La vida, el Amor y la Muerte
by Bloody-trails
Summary: War and Politcs. Seireitei is plagued with both after the battle in fake Karakura town. The shinigami of Soul Society face the trials and tribulations of everyday life during war times and must overcome. Larger summary inside.
1. Intro

**Author's note: To expand on the summary, this story starts part way through the winter war. If you read the manga, you'll be happy to see that this story follows the manga fairly well. This story is Adventure before Romance. There will be romance but it will be more focused on the adventure aspect, there will also be comedy, hurt/comfort, drama and all the general thngs that make up a story. There will also be lemons. I'll give a warning to those of you who don't like lemons so that you can skip past it since it doesnt have much to do with the plot other than the fact that two characters did the dirty. There will be no Yaoi, there may be a little Yuri, I don't know yet but it will be Heterosexual pairings. **

**As for the main characters of the story. This story will center around close to everyone, most centered around Hisagi, Ukitake, Shunsui, Starrk/Lilynette, Ulqiorra, Ichigo, Komamura, Byakuya...etc, etc. Everyone is going to get a little bit of spot light. If you want to see more of your favourite character, let me know and I'll work more of that character into the story providing it doesn't interfere with the overall plot.**

**Again, for those of you who read the manga, this story starts off during the winter war and wil pretty much continue the story from there, albeit there are some minor changes regarding those who live and die. Yes, there will be character death, don't worry though, It won't be a slaughter.**

**I'll be refering to all the characters by their first names. For all the shinigami/humans, when their full name is written it ill be "last name, first name." Ie: Kurosaki Ichigo. All of the Hollow/Arrancar will be written "first name, last name." Ie: Barragan Luisenbarn. I'll provide a translation for any japanese/spanish I use that hasn't already been translated by the Manga/Anime.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo.**

**Speech**

"This is regular speech. Notice the regular font and double quotations."

_'This is someone thinking. Notice the italics and the single quotations.'_

**Any other questions feel free to ask.**

**Enjoy.**

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* * *

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Hirako Shinji grimaced as he stared into the grinning confident face of his enemy. The air of superiority and arrogance that surrounded Aizen made him sick. If there was one thing that Shinji hated, it was when his enemy gave off an air of superiority. It seemed that Shinji's fury had only succeeded in making Aizen more confident of himself. As if he had somehow proved a point. Shinji took in a deep breath to calm himself, fighting with raw emotion was a recipe for defeat and Hiyori`s fate was proof of that. From Aizen`s taunting of their hollowification, to his laughter at Hiyori being nearly killed by Gin, to his speech on how only the weak placed trust in others had all served to stir up a clusterfuck of emotion in Shinji`s heart. Anger, sadness, regret, fear, shame and anxiety. He breathed in deeply again and focused on regulating his heartbeat.

With a couple more deep breaths Shinji stood up straighter and raised his zanpaktou in front of him. His mind raced with emotion but he suppressed them all so that he could battle with the utmost concentration. He nearly looked back to see how Hiyori was fairing in Hachi`s care but fought the urge. He had faith in Hachi and wouldn't`t allow the sight of Hiyori`s bleeding form to distract him. He took one final deep breath and flew at Aizen with his sword raised high. Aizen`s face remained unchanged as Shinji attacked him, his ever present grin unaffected by the ferocity of Shinji`s attack.

Shinji rose his zanpaktou again and struck down on Aizen who parried easily. Shinji continued to rain powerful brutish slashes down on Aizen`s sword. The other shinigami grinned as he held his blade horizontally to block each blow. Shinji smashed down on Aizen`s blade pushing him further and further back through the air, he changed his direction of attack and began to strike down viciously from various angles. Aizen continuously blocked the attacks with little effort. This interaction progressed for a few minutes before Aizen sighed with boredom and shunpo`d behind Shinji.

Aizen stabbed forward to pierce Shinji`s back but the vizard flickered out of sight. As Shinji`s shunpo positioned him to Aizen`s side he slashed out at the shinigami`s waist. Aizen shunpo`d again and attacked Shinji from above. Shinji locked his blade with Aizen`s and with a grunt, forced his opponent backward. Before Aizen could strike back Shinji pounced on him with the same aggressive brutish slashes. It seemed as if Shinji was attempting to break Aizen`s arm with the most powerful strikes he could muster.

Aizen`s smirk receded slightly in annoyance from the assault. He parried another blow and thrust his blade towards Shinji`s chest. Just before Kyoka Suigetsu pierced Shinji the vizard spun swiftly around the blade. He came around with his sword arm raised and slashed down diagonally. Aizen raised his hand and caught the blade in his palm. He winced slightly as the blade cut into his palm.

"Pat yourself on the back Shinji. Your blade managed to cut me." Aizen said coolly as thrust the blade away from himself.

"Don't be so cocky Aizen. My next cut will cleave through you much easier." Shinji said with a wide smile.

Shinji rushed forward and slashed at Aizen's waist. Aizen deflected the strike and slashed back. Shinji blocked the attack and pushed forward. His blade skidded down Aizen's showering sparks down on the fake town below. Just as his blade reached the hilt of Aizen's, Shinji reversed his grip on the blade and stabbed at Aizen's chest. Aizen shunpo'd away from the blade and came back at Shinji with a diagonal slash. Shinji blocked the slash, still holding his blade in a reverse grip, and stabbed out at Aizen once more. Aizen turned to the side to avoid the stab and ran his blade up Shinji's. Shinji lifted his arm and stopped the slash with the hand guard of his katana.

He shunpo'd away and attacked Aizen from behind who blocked the attack. Shinji attacked Aizen again as he did before with ferocious strikes. As Aizen effortlessly defended from the brutish attacks his opponent smiled in a way only Hirako Shinji could. With a quick burst Shinji's fighting style changed drastically. His brutish powerful strikes became precise elegant slashes that roared with pure finesse. Aizen fumbled to protect himself from Shinji's improved style.

Aizen shunpo'd away from Shinji's assault and struck back with a diagonal slash. Shinji riposted the slash and cut Aizen horizontally across his ribs. Aizen floated backwards with a shocked expression as blood spewed from his midsection.

Shinji smiled and brought his blade to his left side and blocked locked swords with a new attacked. Aizen's bleeding body fell limply towards the streets of Karakura town and melted away into the wind. The real Aizen stood to Shinji's left pressing his blade against Shinji.

"Good reflexes Shinji." Aizen said with a patronizing tone.

"My reflexes have nothing to do with it." Shinji replied. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize your Shikai when I saw it?"

"Don't bluff Hirako." Aizen said. "No one can see through Kyoka Suigetsu's illusion. It's perfect.

"I wouldn't say perfect. Some would say your facade was perfect when you pretended to be loyal to Seireitei." Shinji said. "But I saw through that."

Shinji leaned in closer to his an Aizen's locked swords. He moved close to Aizen's face and looked straight into his eyes, once again smiling in that way only Hirako Shinji could.

"Let's find out together. Whether or not your Kyoka Suigetsu really is perfect or not."

* * *

Tousen quickly moved through the air avoiding the massive attacks of his old friend. He jumped to the side, ducked underneath, jumped overtop and blocked the strikes of the colossal Bankai. All of his senses worked in tandem to detect the next attack. As Komamura's Bankai slashed down at him, Tousen could hear the blade whistling through the air, he could feel the wind generated from the wind, he could smell the steel nearing him, he could taste the metal in the air. ANd most importantly, he could sense the density of the reiatsu that saturated the blade. He raised his own Zanpaktou horizontally and blocked the strike. He was nearly launched to the ground by the force of the blow. He condensed the spiritual energy under his feet to properly ground him. His knees bent slightly under the pressure but he managed to push the massive weapon back.

"Smash his limbs: Suzumushi Nishiki" Tousen said as he activated his Shikai.

Suzumush vibrated as he waved it in a line in front of him. As his blade moved through the air it left numerous blades behind. With another wave those blades shot forwards at Komamura. The sound of his blades hitting metal rang through his ears and informed him that Komamura used his Bankai to block the attack. He felt the giant blade coming at him from his left and jumped over the strike.

Not wanting to prolong the battle any more Tousen surged forward to go on the offensive. With the power of his hollow mask and his active Shikai Tousen closed the distance between himself and Komamura before his old friend could react. He brought his sword down towards Komamura's shoulder but was blocked. Tousen pushed down on Komamura's blade and could feel the Captain tremble to hold him before he pushed Tousen back forcibly. With Tosen's new hollow powers he was nearly equal with Komamura in terms of physical strength. But it seemed that with the power of his Bankai, Komamura was still a little stronger than Tousen... a little.

Tousen lifted his hand and blocked a punch from Komamura's Bankai. He was pushed through the air as he struggled to hold back the power of the giant. He was pushed back and smashed into the roof of a building. As he broke through the roof and descended to the next floor Tousen finally managed to stop the push of the massive fist. With his one hand holding back the fist of the giant Tousen charged a cero against the fist. He could feel the energy of the cero swirling around him before he unleashed the cero point blank into the Bankai. He rose from inside the building and felt the reiatsu of the Bankai. In his mind's eye he could see the crude shape of the Bankai, which was missing it's hand. He searched for Komamura's reiatsu but found it difficult to find him in the blanketing power of his Bankai.

With a shunpo he got closer to his opponent and could now discern Komamura's reiatsu from his Bankai. He shunpo'd again and attacked his friend again, locking blades with the large captain. As he pressed against Komamura's blade he could hear the rustling of the captain's pants, signifying that he was lifting his foot. He could feel the immense amount of reiatsu above him as the Bankai's foot came crashing down on both of the captains.

"Bakudou No. 8: Seki." Tousen exclaimed as he lifted his arm above him. A large orb of Kido appeared on the back of his wrist before the large foot stepped on him. He felt the clash of power as the Bankai tried to overwhelm the Kido spell. Tousen pushed more power into the spell and emerged the victor as Komamura's Bankai was pushed back. As the foot was blown back upwards Tousen could feel as Komamura was knocked off balance as well.

_'Hmm, so just as your Bankai mirror's your movements, your forced to mirror your Bankai's movements eh?'_ Tousen thought. This was a weakness that Komamura had managed to hide from him.

Tousen shoved Komamura's blade out the way and slashed his old friend from his left shoulder down to his him. Tousen could smell the fresh blood that filled the air. He brought his blade down again, this time to deliver a killing blow. He was met with resistance though, as Komamura blocked the attack with what Tousen could only assume was his armguard.

Tousen could hear Komamura's blade drop to the ground, obviously needing his hand more than the blade at the moment. Before Tousen could do anything he was trapped in the tight grip of Komamura's Bankai. He grunted in pain from the crushing force of the hand. Luckily with his hollow mask he could endure it. If he wasn't using the mask he would probably be killed by the grip. He grunted louder as he was squeezed tighter, this time he felt bones cracking from the pressure. Tousen gathered his reiatsu and pushed back against the fingers of the giant.

"Cry: Suzumushi." Tousen stated as he activated one of his Shikai's abilities. The sound his sword unleashed vibrated through the giant and broke it's grip. Tousen quickly pushed his arms out and freed himself from the fist. But Komamura recovered from the cry of his Zanpaktou quickly and attempted to grip Tousen again. Tousen held his hands out and struggled to stop the Bankai from crushing him.

_'Fuck.'_ Tousen thought as he struggled to stop the fist from closing on him again.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh..."

_'Fuck!'_ Tousen screamed mentally as he recognized the incantation Komamura was reciting. Komamura wasn't the greatest at Kido but he could still do spells without incantation. But with Tousen's situation, Komamura had time to waste on the incantation to ensure the spell was at it's strongest.

"...flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the South! Hadou no. 31! Shakkaho!!" Komamura screamed as he blasted Tousen point blank with a red ball of energy.

The explosion of power tore through Tousen's body. Tousen screamed in pain but with tremendous effort managed to hold the titan's fist back from crushing him. He panted heavily in pain from the attack and raised his head to face his friend as he struggled to hold the titan back. He could hear the scratch of metal on concrete as Komamura reached with his other hand and picked up his sword.

"Hadou no.1: Sho!" Tousen yelled and quickly pushed his hand in front of him.

Before the titans hand crushed him, his spell hit Komamura in the chest and pushed him backwards stumbling. The Bankai mirrored Komamura and had released Tousen.

Now free Tousen used shunpo and got right in Komamura's face, Suzumushi raised to cleave the fox captain in two.

Before his blade cut Komamura down Tousen heard Hisagi's voice.

"Bakudou no. 61: Rikijokoro!" Tousen felt six flat rectangles of Kido slam into his midsection and lock him in place.

"Your not dead yet?" Tousen asked his former lieutenant. "Why do you continue to fight? Your far to injured to prove useful."

"Because. After you defected. Komamura and I promised eachother that we would open your eyes! That we would show you what true justice is." Hisagi said.

Tousen laughed in response at Hisagi's naivet .

"But now I realize." Hisagi said, quieter than before. "That you've fallen to far to be saved."

"You were like a father to me. I looked up to you, I aspired to be more like you and to follow your philosophy. But I can see that your just a selfish coward. You asked me once, what I feared. And I told you what that was. And now, when it comes down to the final moment I asked you the same." Hisagi said panting. "And you said you feared dying a Shinigami?" Hisagi yelled. He breathed deeply to continue, his wounds were taxing his strength considerably. "That is true cowardice. You are to blind to realize what the true path is. What is right from wrong."

"How do you know what is right from wrong?" Tousen asked accusingly. "I have chosen the path that presents the least bloodshed. Aizen-sama will bring peace to the world."

"You think starting a war and attempting to destroy an entire town is an appropriate method of peace!?" Hisagi yelled. "Aizen as fooled you, and your own cowardice has allowed that to happen."

Tousen stood and said nothing, the kido was beginning to weaken with Hisagi and Tousen began to put his hands together.

"Do you remember when we all told you how ridiculous your spiked afro looked? And you decided to put your hair in dreads?" Hisagi asked with a slight laugh, remembering the funny occasion.

"What of it?" Tousen asked as his hands got closer together.

"You see, we were kind enough to tell a blind man how stupid his hair style looked. Aizen and Gin couldn't even tell you that your hollow mask looks like a fucking penis." Hisagi said with a laugh.

"..." Tousen had no words for his lieutenant

With convenient timing his hollow mask shattered as it reached it's limit. Only seconds after his mask broke, Hisagi's kido spell ended. Tousen lifted his blade in front of him and placed his hand on the ring of Suzumushi.

"Sorry to tell you. But I'm finished playing around." Tousen said as he pulled his apart with the ring of Suzumushi expanding. "Bankai."

* * *

_'What does it matter?'_

Starrk shot a myriad of cero at Love.

_'What's the point?'_

His cero were rendered useless as they were blocked by Love's giant cudgel Shikai. "That won't work on me!" He shouted.

_'Only five of us are left.'_

The buzz of his soindo sounded as he avoided the strike. He dashed behind Love but the vizard caught sight of him.

_'Maybe not even five. Barragan looks done for. Who knows how Ulqiorra is doing.'_

Love swung his giant cudgel around his shoulder. Stark turned his head as he watched the path the cudgel was taking. It was coming straight for him.

_'Fuck it. I don't care.'_

The cudgel smashed into Starrk with insane force and he was shot through a building and into the ground. He grunted in pain and discomfort on the rubble.

"Starrk!" He could hear Lilynette shouting at him.

"Starrk!" She screamed again. "Why are you just laying there? Aren't you going to avenge Barragan?"

"He's still alive." He responded lazily.

"Yea? And how much longer do you think he'll stay alive at this rate?"

"I don't care. The Espada are dropping like flies. There's nothing we can do about it." He said. "They're strong. I don't care anymore. If we keep fighting someone else will just die. It's obvious so it's better just to go home and sleep.

"Don't be an idiot! You're the primera. So ACT LIKE IT!" Lilynette screamed. "Aizen made you primere because he was confident in your abilities. And so far you haven't even been trying!"

Starrk had no reply.

"If you don't want your friends to die than you have to fight!"

Lilynette's words rang through his ears. She didn't need to say more, he didn't need anymore convincing to know what was right.

Starrk said nothing as he dashed back up into the sky. Love saw his approach and attacked him. Starrk crossed his arms and blocked the attack easily. They leapt back from one another and Love donned his mask. He spoke the name of the attack but Starrk wasn't listening, he just avoided it when the time came and positioned himself above the two vizard. He closed his eyes as fractions of his soul flew forth from the bandoliers on his arms. When he opened his eyes again he was looking down at the two vizard with a large pack of wolves attacking him. The two vizard put on their masks and Rose unleashed his Shikai.

They fought against his wolves with valiant effort but soon one neared each of them and an explosion rang out. He looked on as he saw both their figures jump out of the smoke. He could hear them speaking about his ability commenting on how his wolves were cero. They attempted to avoid his wolves but

"There you go! They'll be killed with that many wolves on them!" Lilynette cried in excitement, congratulating Starrk. He looked on as all the wolves gathered and had the two vizard completely covered.

_'I don't want to kill them.'_ Starrk thought as the wolves exploded. His hair blew back forcefully from the shockwave of the explosion. When the smoke cleared the two vizard were kneeling in the air panting heavily. Their clothes were torn and their bodies were beaten and bloody.

"If you want to run I won't chase you." Starrk said as he floated down towards a building.

"Don't make me laugh." Love said as he spat blood.

"Fine. I guess it's just the way it has to be." Starrk sighed. He floated down to the building, just before he stepped onto the building he felt someone's reiatsu. His eyes looked for a threat as he stepped onto the building. A black blade Pierced his chest, he grunted in pain at the sudden attack.

_'What the hell?'_ He thought.

He looked back as the black blade was pulled from his body. He turned and saw half of Kyouraku Shunsui emerging from the ground, Starrk's shadow dripped off of the captain's body like black water.

"You can hide in the shadows? That's ridiculous, you've been holding back that technique all this time?" Starrk asked.

"I wasn't holding back." Shunsui exclaimed. "Katen Kyokotsu's power is to make children's games reality. Everyone who steps in the boundaries of it's spiritual energy is forced to play by it's rules. Including me."

Starrk turned fully to face Shunsui.

"That was Kageoni. When playing Kageoni, whoever steps on a shadow loses. To win, is to live. To lose is to die." Shunsui flipped one of his large scimitar's upside down and held it in front of him. "I love my sword, but getting jerked around like this is a bitch." He said.

Starrk's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. Shunsui stabbed down into his own shadow and Starrk jumped quickly, narrowly avoiding the blade that emerged from his own shadow. Shunsui dashed after him and Starrk realized that he had dropped his guns when he was stabbed. He raised his right hand and gathered spirit particles in his hand, forming a sword out of his own Reiryoku. He met Shunsui's blade with his own and the eccentric captain just looked at him.

"Irooni. Grey." Shunsui said.

With his second blade he slashed Starrks forearm. He screamed in pain as he jumped backwards. Thinking his arm was cut off he looked down at his arm, only to be surprised at the shallow cut.

_'Irooni. Grey.'_ Starrk thought about what Shunsui said before he cut him. _'My arm is grey.'_ He looked at Shunsui. _'He's not wearing any grey.'_

"It's your turn to say the color you want." Shunsui called out. "You won't be able to cut anything else.

With a burst of sonido Starrk attacked Shunsui. He slashed at him three or four times before he chose his color. "White."

Shunsui's eyes opened in shock, confirming that Starrk was right in his theory. With another burst of sonido he moved behind Shunsui and slashed across his back lightly. Shunshui's back sprayed forth a torrent of blood, splattering Starrk. His eyebrow raised at the amount of damaged he caused with the attack. He hadn't slashed Shunsui very hard, he had already figured out how the game worked but the amount of damage he caused was in stark contrast to how much damage a slash like that would have caused normally.

"You figured it out. You truly are a dangerous opponent." Shunsui flew forward and began his attack. Unlike the rest of the battle, Shunsui was actually being serious. Starrk was quickly overwhelmed and created a second blade from his reiryoku to keep up.

_'I envy the weak.'_

Starrk and Shunsui attacked eachother in a flurry of blades.

_'The weak get to be together.'_

Starrk riposted Shunsui's blade, but the captain blocked his attack.

_'My strength caused everyone around me to die, as if I was poison."_

He ducked underneath a slash and came up to put his sword through the captains chin.

_'I was alone.'_

Shunsui moved his head to avoid the stab and kicked Starrk in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

_'That's why we split in two. To escape the loneliness.'_

Starrk flew back up to attack Shunsui, but the captain removed his Haori and threw it in Starrks face. He batted the cloth away with his right sword.

_'I want to be weak.'_

Shunsui rushed him, wearing all black. The standard Shinigami uniform. Starrk heard him exclaim a new color for the game. "Black."

_'If it's impossible. At least give me someone as strong as I am.'_

Shunsui's blade raked across Starrks midsection. He grimaced in agony as blood shot forth from his torso like a fountain. He fell backwards and took one last breath. It was like slow motion as Shunsui's frame got smaller and smaller. He remembered when he first split into Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerback. He remembered meeting Aizen, he remembered the Espada.

His body hit the ground with a thud. Knocking his last breath from his lungs. As the air stopped flowing from his mouth blood replaced it. He could already feel the pool he was making wet his hair. He closed his eyes and everything disappeared.

* * *

Her eyes opened slowly, painfully. Blood quickly flowed into her now open eye. She closed it in irritation and faded back into unconsciousness...

Her eyes opened slowly, painfully. The sun had moved in the sky. She closed her eyes and faded back into unconscious...

The previous darkness disappeared as she opened her eye. It burned regardless of how much she blinked. He looked up and could see two Shinigami fighting. They became fuzzy and hard to see. Soon after she didn't see anything...

She could see a large black bubble pop in her peripheral. She watched as a piece of the black materiel floated through the air. A ring of darkness surrounded her vision and closed in on the black materiel floating in the air...

An explosion shook her body violently. The only emotion that went through her mind was annoyance. She was trying to sleep.

She awoke once again to a loud scream. She groaned and went back to sleep...

More shouting. This time the loud noise had words...

Another explosion. She opened her eye to see what all the ruckus was about. Numerous figures darted through the air. ..

She shivered, everything was so cold...

She groaned, everything was so hot...

Her face scrunched. Rain hit her face, she opened her eyes, she liked the rain. The crimson water speckled her face lightly...

She groaned and her body screamed in protest. Everything hurt. It all hurt at the same time...

She was going up...

A large building collapsed.

Everything was dark again...

* * *

Bit by bit. He could feel his torso. A small patch at first then it grew larger. He felt his skin, he felt his body. His heart beat once, then twice. He felt pain, but it didn't matter. He felt something. His lungs took a breath. His mouth parted slightly to breath easier. He felt the blood in his head rush into his eyes. They were filled with an unpleasant pressure.

_'What happened?'_

The lower half of his body began to form.

_'How am I alive?'_

Images flashed through his mind. Memories. A bloody hole caused by his own cero. The crying girl and the Quincy. The hollow who's power was greater than his own. The cero blasted into him at point blank. Ichigo's mask shattering from his Lanza del Relampago.

His arms and legs reformed for the second time that day.

He remembered the girl, still crying just as before. The reason was different than before. This time she wasn't crying because of him. She was crying for him. He reached out to grab her hand but his own disappeared in dust. His whole body became dust in the wind.

And yet here he was.

Ulqiorra sat up, his body finished regenerating and his resurrection ended.

"How am I alive?" He asked out loud to himself.

* * *

Ichigo looked up at the tiled ceiling of the Fourth Division. He knew he had to turn his head to the side but had difficulty doing so. As much it needed to be done, he didn't want to. He didn't want to face reality. But if he didn't do it, he would hate himself. With a heavy sigh Ichigo turned his head to the side and looked at the clock. It was quarter to noon, it was time to go. With much effort Ichigo raised himself from his laying position in the hospital bed. He grunted and swung his legs over the side, careful not to rip any of his stitches. Before he stood he took another deep breath to prepare for the pain of standing.

"Ugh." He groaned as he stood.

He walked slowly to pick up his Kisode over his shoulders and gingerly walked over to the door of his room. He opened the door and stepped into the halls of the fourth division. As he closed the door and began to walk slowly he heard another door open. Kuchiki Byakuya and Abari Renji both stepped out of their rooms. Ichigo regarded the two of them with a nod and they both responded. Renji chose not to put his Kisode on and walked through the halls wearing just his bandages. Byakuya however, was dressed in his full captain's attire, complete with his windflower silk scarf. He walked with a heavy limp on his left leg, yet the noble captain walked a pride around him that would erase any thoughts of weakness regarding his injured leg.

The three shinigami walked down the halls of the fourth division silently. As they were nearing the exit Kotetsu Isane caught sight of the three injured patients attempting to leave.

"H..Hold on." She stuttered as she scrambled to get in front of them. "You're all too injured to go out now."

"Let us through Isane-chan." Hisagi Shuuhei walked up from behind Ichigo with Komamura Sajin at his side.

"I..I..can't let you guys leave. You're all hurt." Isane said.

"We see that but we're all going and yer' not going to stop us." Hirako Shinji said as he approached with the rest of the injured vizard who had been recuperating.

"Uh..Uh..No..Everyone return to their beds so that you can rest. You all need rest!" Isane shouted the last part to attempt to get control of the situation. But she was backing further and further away from the horde of shinigami trying to leave the hospital.

"Lieutenant Kotetsu. You'll move out of the way so we can leave." Hitsugaya Toushiro added in as he lumbered up to the group with Matsumoto Rangiku gripping his shoulder for support. Normally, Toushiro would have a problem with his busty lieutenant using him as a human cane but he took exception to this situation.

"Make it easy on yourself Isane-chan." Kyouraku Shunsui appeared with Ukitake Juushiro hanging off his shoulder. The white haired captain was struggling to remain on his feet but Shunsui held him steady.

Finally finding her voice Isane perked up with more authority than before. "NO! Captain Ukitake is not allowed to leave in his condition! I will not allow it!" She shouted.

"Isane-san. Please let me go. I will not allow my injuries to cause me to miss this." Juushiro said softly, trying not to wind himself.

"No..no..none of you are allowed to leave. Y..you all have to go back to your beds." Isane said, her previous confidence disappeared and she backed into the doors of the division. She closed her eyes and stretched her palms outward in a feeble attempt to stop anyone from passing. Everyone needed to rest and heal. They couldn't have injured patients walking around Seireitei.

"Isane-chan. Allow them to go, it's easy to see that they are not missing it no matter what." Unohana Retsu placed her hand on her lieutenant's shoulder reassuringly.

"I will accompany them to the funeral to keep an eye on them all. Ukitake-taicho in particular." Retsu looked back at the white haired captain and smiled. He smiled weakly back.

With the reassurance of her Captain, Isane moved away from the doors and allowed the injured members of the Gotei 13 to go out. Ichigo smiled at her respectively and the large group began to walk to the funerals. During the battle in the fake Karakura town the amount of injured piled up higher and higher. Soon Kira Izuru was overwhelmed with injured shinigami. When the vizard appeared Hachigan had been able to lend him a hand, literally one hand. But it soon became too much, and lives were lost.

Ichigo's head hung low as they arrived at the funerals that were being held at noon. He looked around at the empty faces of various shinigami from various divisions. Friends and family alike came to pay their respects to the dead. Even those who didn't know the dead had shown up just to pay respect to a soldier who had given their life in a war. Ichigo had no idea how Isane thought she could stop them from attending the funerals. There wasn't a single force in the universe that would stop any of the shinigami who left the fourth division.  
He looked through the crowds to see who had come and who hadn't. Each face he saw earned that person more respect in Ichigo's eyes, and every face he didn't see did the exact opposite.

Yamamoto-Genryusai Shingekuni stood atop the podium to give the eulogy. Ichigo listened intently to every word that came out of the Soutaicho's mouth. The eulogy was a good one, it was filled with all the respect, honor and love that a eulogy was supposed to have. He was surprised to hear the emotion in Yamamoto's voice, he didn't think of the old man as a heartless commander, but he didn't expect him to care as deeply as he did.

"...And so, with great sadness in my heart, I wish that your new lives flourish. Soul Society will always remember your names. And remember that you courageously gave your lives for the greater good. You all died with honor, and you will be remembered in honor."

"Aikawa Love."

"Hinamori Momo."

"Iba Tetsuzaemon."

"Ishida Uryuu."

"Omeada Marchino."

"Sarukagi Hiyori."

"Yamada Hanataro."

"Yasatora Sado." Yamamoto finished reading their names of this list and the his twenty minute eulogy came to an end.

The eight names swirled in Ichigo's mind and emotion overtook him.

Love, killed by the Segunda Espada Barragan Luisenbarn.

Momo, killed by the Tercera Espada's fraccion. The beast Allon they created crushed her.

Tesuzaemon, killed by the same beast, Allon.

Uryuu, his own friend, killed by the Cero Espada, Yammy Rigalo.

Marchino, killed by the Segunda Espada Barragan Luisenbarn

Hijori, killed by Ichimaru Gin.

Hanataro, killed by the Cero Espada, Yammy Rigalo.

Chad, killed by the Cero Espada, Yammy Rigalo.

A pained sob choked out of Ichigo. The sorrow of lossing his two close friends, and six other comrades at once overtook him. He couldn't hold it back and he began crying. The sobs became heavier with each passing moment. He hunched over in both sorrow and physically pain. He could feel his stitches ripping from the force of his sobs but didn't care. The pain of loss was worse than the pain of a blade. He felt a hand reach out and grip his shoulder reassuringly. He looked up to his left and could see Byakuya looking back at him. Ichigo smiled at his one time enemy. And Byakuya smiled back. It wasn't a happy smile, it was an empathetic one. Not ment to convey happiness or joy, but to convey empathy. He wasn't quite sure, but that might have been the first time Ichigo had seen the man smile. And it was probably the last time it was done.

Ichigo straightened and stood up straight. He felt another clap on his shoulder, this time it was Renji.

"Come one you guys. Everyone's going to Jinsei's bar to have a drink in their memories." Renji said softly. Ichigo nodded and stepped forward.

* * *

**So that's the first chapter. I'll be hammering out several chapters fairly quickly to kick this bad off.**

**Please Review **

**Please Review**


	2. Recovery

**Author's note: I've labeled this story as being about Ukitake Juushiro and Unohana Retsu. Like I said in the first chapter's note, it will be centered around many different characters, I'll probably change the label periodically as I shift attention beween different characters. Also, in my last note I told you I'd be writting using first names mostly, I'm now taking that back. Depending on who's point of view I'm writting from, other characters will either be referred to by their first or last name.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Ichigo walked into the V.I.P hall of Jinsei's bar. He didn't know much about Seireitei's bars or anything, but Renji told him that it was one of the best ones there was. He looked around as various shinigami took seats at the round tables through the hall. The walls were faded salmon color while the tables were draped with a red table-cloth. Every table was positioned underneath a crystal chandelier, and the entire back wall was a bar. The long oak counter stretched to cover the entire wall and numerous bartenders stood behind ready to serve. Behind the bartenders were rows upon rows of alcohol of every type. Ichigo whistled under his breath at the amount of liquor on the wall.

He looked around as everyone began taking seats. He looked around to see which table he'd join. His eyes passed by Ukitake and Unohana who were sitting close to the door. Ukitake had Difficulty walking from the funeral to Jinsei's and Unohana had been forced to heal him on the road. She wanted to take him back to the fourth division but he protested, saying that he had to be present for the toast at least. So after a little staring match Unohana gave in and they brought Ukitake to stay for one drink.

He picked Renji and Rukia both sitting at the same table and walked to join them. But as he walked he noticed that the vizard had been sitting at a table right next to them. He stopped and looked at the two tables for a minute before he decided to sit with the vizard. Ichigo had never asked them to help during the battle in Karakura. But they did so anyway, to combat Aizen to and to help him. So he joined them at their table and took a seat next to Rose. The eccentric vizard greeted him kindly and Ichigo responded the same.

His eyes once again scanned the crowd after everyone had found a table. He was surprised to see that even the shinigami that he had pegged as "loners" had found a table with others to sit with. He heard a clang to his side and turned back to the table, where a woman had put down a round cup.

"Uh, sorry miss. I'm too young to drink." Ichigo said before she poured the sake.

"Shut up Ichigo. No one here cares how old you are." Kenpachi said from the table behind him. "Pour him a glass. And if you manager has a problem with serving underage tell him to come talk to Zaraki Kenpachi.

The woman gulped audibly and poured Ichigo a cup. Ichigo looked at Kenpachi who smiled at him and raised his cup to him. Ichigo stared at the cup in disbelief. His own cup was just slightly larger than his palm. Kenpachi's cup was bigger than his hand. And Kenpachi had a large hand. Despite the over abundance of alcohol, no one was drinking. It seemed they were all waiting for something.

"Are we waiting for a toast?" Ichigo asked Rose quietly.

"Yea." He looked around quickly. "It seems no one knows who's actually supposed to do it though."

As if on cue Shunsui stood up and cleared his throat for attention.

"Thank you all for coming. It seems that no one prepared any words for this get together. So I'm going to go ahead and say a few things for our comrades."

Ichigo turned in his seat to face the pink captain. As did everyone else.

"Now I know not everyone here today is the same. There are shinigami, vizard and human alike all here. All here for the same reason. Not everyone here is dealing with this loss the same way, not everyone has the same opinion about it. To anyone who feels offended, to anyone who feels negativity in my words. I'd like to sincerely apologize for causing you discomfort. Know now that everything I say is meant in the utmost respect for out lost comrades." Shunsui said. His voice carried through the hall, cutting through the silence everyone had given him to hear the toast. The staff waited off to the side.

"Everyone in this room." Shunsui started. "Knows. Everyone knows how life works. Even the Ryoka...No. They are no longer intruders. They are friends. And our friends, all of them, knew how life worked just as we do now. Death is a part of life and just death is a part of life. Rebirth is a part of death. Our friends will be reborn and rise once again. They may not have their memories, the same thoughts, the same feelings. They may not have the same abilities or ambitions. But they'll have the same soul. And it's the soul that counts...because the soul is everlasting. It's the soul that never changes, it's the soul that never dies. And their soul will continue to thrive."

A cheer was heard from someone in the bar.

"Today, there may be tears and there may be sorrow. We will all miss them dearly. Love, who always stood up for his beliefs, never acting in a way he felt to be beneath him. Momo, who loved and trusted all. Tetsuzaemon, from my understanding, was the only eleventh division shinigami smart enough to learn Kido."

Light laughter sounded in the hall. Kenpachi was grinning at the verbal jab in good humor.

"Uryuu." Shunsui continued. "A smart young boy. One who could push past the anger and hatred he felt for shinigami in recognition of a common enemy. Marechiyo, who on numerous occasions tried to sell me his homemade jewelry. And eventually succeeded." Shunsui pulled a gold necklace from under his shirt that was far to jewel encrusted to be considered fashionable. More laughter rang through the hall.

"Hiyori. What can I say about Hiyori? She was so full of spirit. So spunky. Hanataro, a young fourth division boy. A nice kid who only ever wanted to help. And Chad. I fought Chad once, he fought with conviction but I could still sense his reluctance. I later learned that Chad made a vow, a vow to never fight unless it was to protect."

Like I said, today there may be tears and there may be sorrow. But today is not a day to mourn. When we wake up tomorrow morning, some of us with fuzzy heads from the alcohol, some of us with clear minds. We will not look back at today and shed tears. We will look back at today as the way it should be. A celebration. Because we are not mourning the deaths of our friends today. We are celebrating the lives they lived. Their individual accomplishments and ambition. We will look back at their laughter, their joy, their nirvana and rejoice in the lives they lived. We will also look back at the sadness, their despair, their anger and their frustration. Because it was apart of them. Because, the sweet, wouldn't taste so sweet, without the sour. We will look back at the low points in their lives, when they were broken down and defeated. And when they persevered and overcame those low points."

"We will celebrate their strength, so that one day, when our time comes to pass, our friends can look back at today as when we persevered and overcame." Shunsui's voice had progressively gotten louder through his speech. His voice carried through the hall powerfully.

"And when we are finished celebrating their lives, when we are finished wiping our tears. We are going to stand up tall in the memory of their sacrifice!"

He raised his cup of sake in the air and everyone followed suit. Ichigo grinned at the size of Shunsui's cup, which was equal to Kenpachi's.

"To our friends." He said, his voice loud and clear, but it was really a whisper in nature.

"To our friends!" The crowd replied in unison. Shunsui raised his head tipped the cup to his lips. Everyone followed suit and drank their drink. Ichigo grimaced from the sting of the sake and put his cup down. Shunsui finished his drink and sat down once more.

"I had no idea you could be so poetic Kyouraku-taicho." Ichigo heard Nanao speak to her captain. "Only when the situation calls for it my dear Nanao-chan."

Kenpach stood up abruptly, drawing the attention of the hall to himself.

"And when all is said and done, we're going back out there. And we're going to kick! Aizen! Sosuke's! ASS!" He shouted.

The hall erupted in cheers as everyone applauded to Kenpachi far less sentimental toast.

* * *

Ichigo smiled goofing as he took another drink of sake. The initial sting of the alcohol had become lighter and lighter as each drink poured down his throat. He put his cup back and Kensei poured him another. Kensei's gruff expression had long since disappeared and his face now held a pleasant smile. Even Mashiro's annoying habits didn't seem to irritate him. Which was surprising considering how much worse her annoying habits were when she was drunk. This was Ichigo's first time drinking but he was still sober enough to recognize what all his comrades were like drunk.

He was especially hoping to see what Yamamoto was like with all inhibitions gone, but the old man left after Shunsui's toast. He helped Unohana transport Ukitakte back to the fourth division. Despite the white-haired captains complaints, Unohana wasn't going to allow the most injured one to stay and get drunk with everyone else. Before she left she pleasantly advised all of her patients that they shouldn't drink too much and that they shouldn't stay too long. Her tone was polite but fear coursed through Ichigo's veins. The female captain had some odd ability to scare the shit out of everyone with polite words and a sweet smile. Everyone was visibly shaken by Unohana's advise but after a couple drinks she was forgotten.

"Oi! Let me take a look at that." Rose shouted across the table to Lisa.

Lisa perked up surprised. "Let me finish it before you read it."

"I'm almost done that one. And if you finish it before me than you're going to ruin the ending for me." Rose said with a hint if irritation.

"No." Lisa replied.

Rose reached over the table quickly and snatched the manga from her hands before she could react. His triumphant smile faded when a second manga fell from behind the first. He looked down at the erotic novel that Lisa was really reading.

He sighed and hung his head. "Really Lisa?"

Lisa angrily snatched both the manga from Rose and put them back the way they were to cover the smut she was reading.

Kensei and Ichigo chuckled at their antics.

"It was one of Love's favorites." Lisa said quietly referring to the smut.

Ichigo and Kensei's laughter faded. They didn't find it funny anymore.

* * *

Renji laughed loudly at his long time friend as she hiccoped. He had seen Rukia have an occasional drink here and there but it was only just one. She just finished her fourth cup of sake when Renji noticed that she was visibly drunk. Obviously her small body and lack of drinking experience made her quite the lightweight.  
He patted her on the back as she hiccoped again. She coughed lightly and took a deep breath, then scowled at Renji when he refilled her cup. He just smiled back sheepishly as he finished his own drink

"Lieutenant Abari. I hope for your sake you're not trying to get her drunk." Byakuya said as he sat down at their table.

"Uh..n..no. Kuchiki-taicho. I was just..." Renji's fearful sentence was cut off with a wave of Byakuya's hand.

"Forget it." He said simply. Byakuya had been sitting with other captains when he noticed the spaced look on his adoptive sister's face. He suddenly felt the need to switch tables and look out for her well being. He tilted his head back and finished the last of his drink. He grabbed the bottle and filled his cup again and lightly sipped the alcohol. He didn't drink often but he did enjoy to when the situation called for it. His method of drinking was the brunt of a few jokes when Shunsui and Kenpachi made comments to him sipping his drink like a woman. Byakuya merely responded back that he wasn't an ape who chugged liquor like his life depended on it. Both of the other captains laughed.

Renji drank his sake nervously with his captain now sitting at their table. He didn't quite feel at ease anymore. He looked across the table at Rangiku who seemed to feel the exact opposite. He had gone to bars with Rangiku before and always ended up being drank under the table by her. She was already thoroughly intoxicated and with intoxication, came a new sense of confidence.

"So Kuchiki-kun." Rangiku started.

Renji mentally slapped himself on the forehead at his big-breasted friend's poor choice of words. If she was hoping to flirt with his captain, then she would have to learn quickly.

"You'll refer to me as Kuchiki-taicho." Byakuya responded as he sipped his drink.

"Awww, c'mon. Now isn't the time for formalities." Rangiku responded with a pout.

Renji looked at his captain who was sipping his drink again, not looking at anyone. He put his cup down and sighed.

"Very well. You may refer to me by my first name." Byakuya said.

Renji nearly fell out of his chair. 'I was never allowed to do that. And I'm his fucking lieutenant!'

"With." Byakuya added. "The proper honorific."

"Ok Byakuya-kun." Rangiku said playfully.

"That isn't the proper honorific."

* * *

Everyone laughed out loud when Komamura finished his story of Hisagi. To lighten the mood he decided to recant Hisagi's words to Tousen. Specifically when he told his former captain that he looked like a penis. Hisagi chuckled as he finished yet another cup of sake. He was surprised when he saw both Soifon and Hitsugaya laugh. Soifon chuckled lightly which quite the sight to see. During his many years of serving in the Gotei 13 he had never seen her laugh or even heard about her laughing. He was equally surprised at Hitsugaya's loud guffaws. As far as he knew, the small captain never drank but as the night progressed Hisagi suspected that the captain of the tenth division had a few secrets. The boy wasn't quite keeping pace with Hisagi, but he was drinking his fair share.

"He really did look like a penis." Hitsugaya said with a laugh. The table agreed each with a smile.

Soifon muttered something into the brim of her cup that Hisagi couldn't make out.

Komamura's massive hand slapped the table as he burst into laughter, surprising all of them suddenly. He finished laughing after a few moments and wiped tears from his eyes.

"What was so funny?" Hisagi asked.

"Nothing. I just have really good hearing." Komamura replied with a look at Soifon. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what the larger captain was implying.

"Shut up." She said.

Hisagi looked back and forth between the two drunk captains and curiosity and mischief ran through his mind.

"What did you hear Komamura-taicho." He asked slyly. He had seen Komamura drunk before. And when the large captain got drunk, his tongue got loose. Not in an offensive way, but in a humorous way.

"Nothing." Soifon interrupted. "He didn't hear anything." She shot a glare at Komamura.

"Now, now Soifon-taicho. If Komamura-taicho wishes to speak you should let him." Hitsugaya said. He turned his head and winked at Hisagi.

_'You sly devil.'_ Hisagi thought. It looked like Hitsugaya was just the kind of guy that Hisagi was, when he was drunk at least.

"Yes, let Komamura-taicho share with us." Hisagi said.

Hitsugaya nodded vehemently. Both had caught on that Komamura heard what Soifon muttered into her cup and both wanted to find out what it was that she didn't want the fox to repeat.

Komamura shook his head no, deciding not to expose Soifon. Hitsugaya smiled and grabbed the sake bottle and filled his fellow captain's cup.

_'You sly, sly devil.'_ Hisagi thought proudly. They were going to get Komamura shitfaced. And then they were going to find out what Soifon had said.

* * *

"Ow." Ukitake exclaimed as Unohana applied pressure to his wound when she wrapped another bandage around his torso. She finished quickly and allowed him to lay back on the mountain of pillows he had propped up so he could lay in a sitting position comfortably.

"There, all better." She said softly.

Ukitake exhaled and closed his eyes briefly. He opened them again and looked at the smiling face of Unohana.

"Retsu." He began. She looked at him kindly. "Do you think we could have done a better job in Karakura?"

She smiled warmly. "There is always room for improvement. Nothing is perfect. But everyone did their job to the best of their ability."

"Do you think I could have done better?"

"Don't blame yourself for what happened Juushiro."

"Everytime an important battle occurs, I am the one who ends up injured. I can never do my duty as a captain."

Unohana reached forward and cupped his cheek. "It's not your fault Juushiro. You're ill, and you've been ill for a long time. No one blames you."

Ukitake closed his eyes. His brow was furrowed in concentration. When he and Shunsui were fighting Starrk he was struck with a coughing fit from his disease. The new arrancar Wonderweiss used that opportunity to pierce his chest. And he was out for the rest of the battle. Just like when he, Kaien and Rukia went after that hollow so many years ago, his disease prevented him from helping. Even though he knew he wouldn't have interfered, it was Kaien's fight for his pride, he wished that if he had chosen to help then he could have.

"It's not happening again Retsu." He said finally, opening his eyes. "Next time, I won't allow people to get hurt."

"I don't care if this disease kills me. I'll fight back."

"It can't Juushiro. You know that. With your reiryoku it can't kill you."

Ukitake just sighed.

"It's a debilitating disease, it weakens you and prevents you from fighting with all your power."

"I know, I know. It's just difficult sometimes." He said softly.

Unohana ran her thumb along his cheek and leaned in to peck him lightly on the lips. As she pulled away Ukitake's hand came up and grabbed her shoulder. As he looked into her eyes he pulled her in close and locked their lips again. Her hand moved from his face and ran down to his chest. He grunted slightly in pain as she applied a little pressure to his chest. Unohana giggled lightly and apologized before kissing him again. His tongue darted out and licked her lips lightly. She opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to play with hers. For about a minute their tongues danced with each other. Ukitake brought his left hand up and gripped her left breast. He kneaded her breast for a few moments before pushing her braid away from her chest and slid his hand under her shirt. He gripped her breast lightly before squeezing her nipple between his middle and ring finger.

She gasped and pulled back with a smile, his hand still underneath her shirt.

"I shouldn't be exciting you. We'll do this again when your in better health Juushiro." She said as she stood from the bed. He let his hand fall from her shirt and on his lap.

"We definitely will Retsu." He replied suggestively. She stepped out of the room and gave him a seductive look before she closed the door.

Ukitake sighed heavily. "She could have stopped it before she got me all riled up." He grumbled to himself. He was now left alone in his hospital bed with all the blood in his body rushing to his lower half.

* * *

Ichigo's head tilted to the side slowly as he watched Byakuya teetering. He lifted his head and tilted it to the other side, mirroring the way Byakya was walking. Several hours and several drinks later, the group of shinigami in the bar were shit faced. Byakuya was attempting to go home but couldn't seem to walk in a straight enough line to get to the door. His injured leg didn't help matters. As he teetered to the door Ikkaku stood and grabbed the captain to help him stand straight. Ichigo heard Ikkaku make a joke about Byakuya being a light weight before he pulled his arm back and walked to the door with perfect balance. Ichigo laughed at Byakuya's ability to appear completely sober for sake of his pride.

He his head back to face the vizard, much to quickly than he would have initially liked. The tilting and the whirl he just did came back to him and made the whole room dizzy.

"Uh-oh. I know that look." Shinji said as he got up from his chair. He stumbled over to Ichigo and grabbed his arm.

Before Ichigo could protest he was dragged to the male washroom and deposited on a floor in front of a toilet.

"What the hell! I'm totally ffine." Ichigo slurred before he threw up in the toilet.

Shinji chuckled as Ichigo heaved again and again. His chuckling ended abruptly when he got a whiff of his friends vomit. Suddenly his stomach turned and he stepped forward quickly.

"Move." He said gruffly as he forcefully pushed Ichigo's head away from the toilet and puked. This time it was Ichigo's turn to laugh. After a few minutes of taking turns throwing up, both from too much alcohol and the putrid smell of vomit, neither were laughing.

"Ugh, I'm never drinking again!" Ichigo groaned as he sat draped over the toilet.

"Forget about it. It's yer first time. Everyone gets sick the first time." Shinji replied

"Go fuck yourself." Ichigo replied, spitting in the toilet. He grunted as Shinji kicked him roughly in the ass. But felt to sick to do anything about it.

_'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.'_ Ichigo repeated in his head over and over. He could faintly hear water running as Shinji washed his hands. With the sound of water still going Ichigo was hoisted from the ground and dragged to the sink. He lazily lifted his head and put his hands under the water. After a minute of just letting the water run over his hands he drunkenly splashed himself in the face with handfuls of water.

"Ok let's get you back to the fourth division so you can sleep this off." Shinji said as he dragged Ichigo to a standing position and exited the washroom.

Hisagi pushed another cup of sake to Komamura who drank it quickly. When he placed his cup back on the table Hitsugaya had already filled it again. The large captain drank it happily. Their plan was working. At first Soifon was distant from them out of suspension, but after a few more drinks she couldn't even remember what she was suspicious about earlier.

* * *

"You...know that fffuckin arrancar blew up my arm." Soifon slurred.

"You got it back!" Hisagi shouted back drunkenly.

"Fuck you!" Soifon shouted back. "It's the mater of fact of the matter."

Hitsugaya looked his drunk collage. "That sentence was so wrong." He replied.

Soifon just glared at him. Hitsugaya stared back.

"Hey!" Hisagi shouted, breaking their staring contest. "Let's lighten the mood. Remember when Komamura-taicho told you how I called Tousen a penis."

The drunken laughter from Hisagi's stupid comment was astounding.

"I remember. Hey, afterwards you were laughing about something else Sajin. What was it you heard?" Hitsugaya asked.

Hisagi and Hitsugaya both stared at the captain while sitting on the edge of their seats. This was the moment of truth.

"Oh, after you said how much his hollow mask looked like a penis. Soifon muttered..."

Soifon, who was to preoccupied with giggling to herself finally caught wind of the conversation. The look of horror on her face portrayed her fear of being exposed and the fact she was too late to do anything about it.

"...'I wouldn't know.'" Komamura said with a chuckle as he polished off what was left in his cup. He was completely oblivious to the way he was manipulated by both Hitsugaya and Hisagi. The two of them looked at eachother slowly then to Soifon, who looked back nervously.

"You." Hitsugaya started. "Wouldn't know what a penis looked like?" He asked, a small smile creeping up.

Soifon sputtered trying to come up with an answer but couldn't.

"Soifon." Hisagi said. "Are you a virgin?"

Again Soifon sputtered but no real words came out.

"Bwahahahahaha." Hitsugaya and Hisagi burst into laughter. The normally fearsome captain blushed and sank back into her chair.

"Fuck you both! It's a personal choice!" Her newfound anger did nothing to quell the laughter of her two drinking mates.

"Why are you laughing Toushiro!" Soifon yelled in frustration. "Don't act like your not a virgin to!"

The two boys continued laughing before Hisgai managed to reply for his friend.

"Actually, In my time in the shinigami academy. I ran across quite a large number of girls whose hearts were broken by Hitsugaya Toushiro." He said whipeing tears from his eyes.

Hitsugaya nodded in laughter. He finally opened his eyes out of curiosity. Komamura hadn't made a peep. He looked over at the larger captain and found him with his head on the table sleeping.

"It's ok Soi." Hitsugaya said.

"We'll keep your secret. If you let us, we'll even get you laid." Hisagi added. The glare she shot him silenced his laughter instantly. He instead busied himself with trying to wake Komamura.

"It. Is. A. Choice!" Soifon seethed with anger.

Komamura was successfully awake now after only a few shakes by Hisagi. "Ugh, it's time for me to go home."

"Stay for another few minutes Sajin." Hitsugaya said and finished drinking his cup.

"Yea, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." Hisagi said. "Alone though."

"You're not allowed to keep secrets." Soifon said angrily. "What you need to say to Komamura-taicho, you'll say to all of us. That's an order."

Hisagi looked at Soifon and mentally smiled. She was desperately trying to take the embarrassment off of herself.

"Well I would have spoken it to you guys any how." Hisagi said as he poured himself another cup. "Tousen isn't coming back. And I want to take his position as captain of the 9th division."

"Also." He added. "There's one thing I've been hiding for a while."

* * *

Lilynette stood and walked from her room. Starrk lead the way as they walked through the halls of Las Noches. Aizen-sama wanted to see them all, and have a meeting. To tell the truth, Lilynette didn't even know how she and Starrk were alive. Not that she wasn't happy about being alive but it was still odd. They didn't have to walk long before they reached the throne room where Aizen-sama and everyone else was. She looked around to see to was still alive. Barragan, Halibel, Grimmjow, Gin, Tousen and Yammy. Wonderweiss wasn't present, she didn't know whether or not he was alive. But if he was, she doubted he'd be a part of the meeting.

"Now that we're all here. I'd like to first congratulate you all on a successful mission." Aizen said as he stood from his seat. He walked down the long stairs with his hands behind his back. Lilynette looked around the room at the confused looks of the Espada.

_'Did we win?'_ She thought.

"Starrk, Lilynette. How are you feeling?" He asked them as he got to the bottom of the stairs.

Starrk bowed slightly. "Good Aizen-sama. I apologize for failing you." Lilynette followed Starrks movements and bowed as well.

"Don't worry about it, your opponent was Kyouraku Shunsui, nothing less was expected from him." Aizen said simply.

"But more is expected of us! Starrk is undeserving as the Primera." Barragan shouted.

"Other than the fact that I'm stronger than you?" Starrk said. Normally he never argued with Barragan, but he wasn't in the best of moods today.

"I killed two of the shinigami. You nearly died to your opponents shikai." Barragan smugly.

"Last I saw half of your face was blown off by that chick's Bankai!" Lilynette shouted back. "And it looks like it didn't grow back very well!"

Barragan scowled at Lilynette's comments. It was true, his face was severely scarred. "You dare spe..." Barragan started but was cut off by a dense spiritual pressure. Aizen silenced him and continued.

"Are you wondering how you managed to live Starrk? Lilynette?" He asked them. Both arrancar nodded. "You two are unique, but before I get into that, I have a mission for the top three espada in this room."

He turned and looked at Barragan and Halibel. He didn't look at Yammy however. Since Yammy's power was only present in his released form, he wasn't included in difficult missions. His size was a problem most of the time.

"We failed to defeat the Gotei 13 in Karakura, but I didn't expect to." He said. "Just like I currently don't expect us to be able to defeat the royal guard defending the soul king. Until now." Aizen smirked as he looked at each arrancar in turn.

"I need stronger Espada, I need arrancar made from the Vasto Lorde. So far, I've only manage to collect one." He said as he glanced at Starrk. "While the rest of you are powerful, you were all still Adjuchas when you became arrancar, and are there for weaker than you could have been. The Vasto Lorde have been exceedingly difficult to locate, they move off alone, avoiding all others. Due to the fact that most hollow are killed by the immense rieryoku out, the Vasto Lorde eventually seclude themselves."

_'Just like we did.'_ Lilynette thought.

"But the incredible amount of reiryoku that was given off in Las Noches as well as Karakura town from the battle's has attracted the Vasto Lorde. They've come out of the seclusion to find out what's going on. That will be your missions. To track down the Vasto Lorde and recruit them. Most of you will probably get a demotion once I arrancarise the Vasto Lorde, a couple of you may be expelled from the espada entirely, it depends."

Aizen reached into his robes and pulled out the Hogyouku.

"After reviewing the surveillance with Gin, I watched Ulqiorra fighting Kurosaki Ichigo." Aizen paused. "Ulqiorra achieved a second resurrection."

Lilynettes eye widened in surprise. She had no idea that that was possible.

"So, I'll give you two options. You can either be exposed to Hogyoku a second time, right now. Or you can attempt to obtain the resurrection on your own within one week. Then I'll use the Hogyoku regardless of your opinion."

The espada all muttered to themselves as to their ultimatum. Aizen never used the Hogyoku twice on one arrancar. There was no guarantee it would give a second resurrection, it could kill them.

Aizen gave them time to volunteer to be the first experiment but no one came forward. "Barraga, Halibel, go find the Vasto Lorde, you have one week to do so and come back. Starrk will join you shortly. Everyone else leave."

One by one each of the arrancar turned and left. Gin and Tousen remained, even though Aizen ordered everyone to leave, the two shinigami didn't fall into the same order.

"As I promised, you two are wondering how you lived?" Aizen said as he turned to Starrk and Lilynette. "You two are unique. Arrancar are created when a hollow removes their own mask and gain shinigami powers. However, you two became arrancar by splitting your soul. So in essence, each of are, are both the zanpaktou, and the arrancar."

Lilynette looked up to Starrk, who was still looking at Aizen impassively.

"A zanpaktou can only be damaged when it's wielder's reitsu is low. And when it is damaged it will repair itself naturally as the owners reitsu recovers. If it is completely destroyed, it will come back once the owner is back at full power. Since the two of you individually are both the arrancar and the zanpaktou, neither of you can really die." Aizen said with his famous grin. "Theoretically, if one of you were to die, you would come back to life as long as the other survived. I also believe, that if you are completely killed while you are in your resurrection, than you will actually die. But your resurrection faded after you were defeated, and that's what saved your life.

Lilynette looked back and forth from Starrk to Aizen. A smile on her face. 'We're nearly invincible.'

"As good as that is." Aizen began. "Ultimately, your method of becoming arrancar is inefficient. If you were to become an arrancar by natural means or through the hogyoku than your power would be much greater." He looked at Starrk and Lilynette both before continuing. "I need you to reform and become one entity."

Lilynette gasped. "No!" She shouted without thinking. "Starrk and I are sticking together."

"Your one in the same." Aizen said looking down at her. "What does it matter?"

"We're not doing it!" She screamed.

Aizen grin faded and was replaced with a look of irritation. "Yes you are." He said matter of factly.

"No. Aizen." Starrk said sternly. His hand unconsciously went to the side and gripped Lilynette's. She gripped his hand equally. "It's not happening."

"It is." Aizen said as he raised his spiritual pressure, blanketing the room. Lilynette felt Starrks reitsu build to combat Asians.

The two men stared at eachother for only a minute before Starrk spoke up.

"If we became arrancar the wrong way, then that means we aren't technically arrancar." He started. "We don't own actually own a zanpaktou. We will achieve the correct amount of power on our own terms." Starrk said. And with that, he turned away from Aizen and left, Lilynette followed him out of the room. When they were out of the room Lilynette jumped on his back and began to noogy him.

"Finally you stand up for yourself." She said as she gripped his neck and ruffled his hair.

"Don't get used to it. That was far too much effort for my taste." He said lazily. "Time to sleep."

Lilynette's smile faded slowly. With her legs wrapped around his chest she wrapped both her arms around his neck and snuggled in close, closing her eyes.

"We're going to find out how to become stronger right?" She asked quietly.

"Yea, we are. We're sticking together no matter what." He replied.

**

* * *

**

**Please Review.**

**Please Review.**


	3. Five Weeks Later

**Author`s Note: This chapter is a little shorter that the others. I had alot of distractions and didn`t want to not update. The next chapter will be out soon and will be much longer.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Ichigo sat in his fourth period class watching the clock. He hadd long since tuned out his teachers lesson and all other background noise. The only thing he really heard was the ticking of the clock as the second hadn made another full rotation. Only a few more minutes and he could leave. School had become a hello for Ichigo. Every class he did the same thing. Tuned everything out and watched the clock. When lunch came around, he would eat with his regular group. But he didn't converse much. Unless he was directly spoken to, or needed to state his opinion, Ichigo didn't emerge himself in conversation. Especially since all the conversation about Chad and Uryuu's accident.

Accident. That was what everyone beleived. That was the cover up that Soul Society implemented to hide the real reason for their deaths. When Chad and Uryuu's bodies were brought back from Hueco Mundo there was nothing any healer could do for them. Other than heal the wounds on an already dead body to make it easier to fool people in the real world. The cover up for their deaths was a carr accident. Chad and Uryuu were walking down the street when they were both struck by a car. With some tinkering of surveillance cameras and some shinigami in gigais to act as witnesses, the scene was complete. A tragic accident that killed three people, two studtens walking across the road, and a drunk driver. The druck driver was nothing more than a special gigai that was complete with organs and blood. Virtually the exact same as a human body. Soul Society had methods of covering their tracks.

Their funerals were held a few days after the funerals in Seireitei. Their names were included on the plak up in Soul Society but their bodies were buried on earth. And for the second time, Ichigo had to hear his friends name spoken in a eulogy. Everyon at school was deeply saddened by the loss of two of their classmates, but not to the defree of Ichigo and Orihime. For the last few weeks there was a great deal of self blame for the deaths. Both from Ichigoand Orihime, and in Sould Society. Many felt that it was their fault, some were correct, but these wern't the times to lay blame even if it was self blame. In the back of his mind, Ichigo knew it was no one\s fault, everyone fought to the best of their ability.

The bell rang and he picked up his bag and left the classroom swiftly. As he exited his school he saw Orihime, she waved at him and walked her own way home. Ichigo sighed, Orihime had taken it the hardest. She felt that if she didn't allow herself to be taken to Las Noches than there would never be a rescue mission. And if there wasn't a rescue mission than Chad, Uryuu and Hanataro wouldn't have been killed. Ichigo told the girl how ridiculous she was being, how it wasn't her fault. She said she agreed with him but he could tell that she still felt like it was all her fault.

It was thrusday, and when the weekend came, he was going to Seireitei to do whatever he could. The war with Aizen had come to a sort of halt. In the past five weeks Aizen hadn't made a single move. They had assaulted Las Noches a few times, but due to the immense size of the fortress they couldn't afford to commit to a full scale attack. There was too much of a risk of Aizen abandoning the forterss and counter attacking. Since they ocouldn't use the Senkaimon to transport themselves directly into Lax Noches, it gave Aizen too much time to leave and launch a counter attack on Seireitei. So instead they resorted to small excursions through the fortress to gather information and kill whoever they came across.

It seemed that an invasion of Hueco Mundo was impossible due to the circumstances for the time being. For them to win the war, it looked like they would have to wait until Aizen's next move to attempt to kill the man.

"Nii-san!" Yuzu puped up as he walked into the door. "I made sukiyaki for dinner."

Ichigo nodded in response and thanked his younger sister for the food when she handed him his plate. Ht took the plate and went up stairs to eat in his room. He had been eating in his toom a lot latlely. He preferred to be alone most of the time when he was at home. It wasn't that he didn't like his families company, they had actually been a great support for him during this rough patch. Yuzu did her party by cooking his favortie meals everyday and continued being her cheery self. Karin had been a good person to talk to when he chose to talk about it. And his dad...well his dad hadn't attacked him at all in the last five weeks. Which was just fine with Ichigo. His family wasn't the reason he looked himself in his room, he just liked to be alone in his mourning.

He ate his food slowly as he did his homework. When he finished he laid down in his bed and closed his eyes. He thought about the weekend, when he could go back to Soul Society and do what he could to help. It wasn't much longer before he drifted off to sleep and dreamed of happier days.

* * *

"So will you two help me?" Hisagi asked captains Ukitake and Kyouraku.

Shunsui rubbed his beard lightly as he contemplated Hisagi's request. "Yea I think we can. Can we Juushiro? I can only speak for myself." He asked his friend.

"Yea I'm all aboard." Ukitake said after a momnet of silent thought.

Hisagi smiled and bowed lightly to the two captains, thanking them.

"How many do you have?" Ukitake asked.

"With you two, five. I need one more to kick start this think. I'm not sure who I should approach though." Hisagi said.

"Try Unohana-taicho. I'll put in a good word for you." Ukitake said with a nice smile. Hisagi agreed and thanked them once more. After that he turned and headed in the direction of the 4th division.

"I'm sure you will put in the best word. Won't you Juushiro?" Shunsio said with a smirk.

"Shut up. And watch waht you say when we're in public." Ukitake replied with an annoyed expression.

"You two have been together for the last half-century. What's the point in keeping the secret?" Retsu and I are both bery private people. There's no reason to go gallivanting around." Ukitake replied.

Shunsui laughed at his friends reasoning. "I never said you had to gallivant around, just that you don't have to hide it."

"Like I said." Ukitake replied. "We're both private people."

Shunsui sighed in response. They walked for a whbile before he spoke again, a question suddenly rissing to mind. "Am I the only one who knows about you two?"

"Yup." Ukitake said. "Since your such a close friend to both of us we felt iw would be unfair to start a relationship and keep it a secret from you."

Shunsui nodded with a smile.

"Although." Ukitake added. "I think Retsu is going to tell Isane-san sooner or later."

Again Shunsui nodded, speaking a reply wasn't needed. The two of themw alked through Siereitei until they reached the 13th division. The two captains walked until they reached Ungendo, Ukitae's family estate, where they sat in the luxerious garden near the fish ponds. Ukitake usually came to his family estate to relax when he was feeling particularly ill. Shunsui visited frequently and sometimes the two of them would go there when they wanted to get away for a bit. The last five weeks had been extremly stressful for all captains of the Gotei 13. Organizing missions to Hueco Mundo was annoying in itself, coupled with the paperwork that came along, but that wasn't the problem. It was the Central 46 that had caused all the stress.

With the slaughter of the last Central 46 they were left without a formal gobernment for a while. The four noble houses and the Gotei 13 ran Soul Society during the gap in government. The nobles took control of most of the Central 46's duties while all military control was taken over by the Soutaicho, Yamamoto. But that couldn't last. Before Inoue Orihime was taken to Hueco Mundo the process of selecting the next Central 46 began. And by the time the battle in Karakura ended, the process was complete. It took them a week of working none stop before they had caught up to everything that had been neglected. And once they were properly organized, the Central 46 began causing problems.

After the battle at Karakura, Yamamoto used his temporary authority to lift the vizard's exile. And that was the topic of the Central 46's first move. To attempt to re-banish the vizard. Their reasoning was that despite the aid the vizard gave in Karakura, they still could not be trusted due to their hollow abilities. The fact that Tousen revealed hollow abilities didn't help the matter. It was after the Central 46's order to exile the vizard again that Yamamoto called a captains meeting and asked all the captains to stand by him one-hundred percent and give all the aid they could to stop the exile. His request wasn't an unreasonable one, the captains were loyay to Yamamoto, and did stand by him. Byakuya had been especially helpful, being the head of the Kuchiki clan.

With his status in on e of the four noble houses he managed to pull a great deal of pressure from the nobles. The majority of the Kuchiki clan had opposed the vizard's exile. Soifon had also used her family ties with the Shihouin clan to gain mroe support. Although she didn't get the whole clan on their side she did help get enough to make a difference. And while Juushiro and Ukitake weren;t part of the four noble houses, their own clans were still fairly prestigious and they managed to bring more support.

All in all, they managed to oppose the Central 46's decision and the viard were allowed to remain within Soul Society. Even though it was a victory on their side, opposing the Central 46 was never a good thing. For another two weeks or so the Central 46 had been breathing down their necks, slapping them with all sorts of regulations. For the last few days they were quiet though, apparently busy debating about unkown issues. Rumers surfaced but Juushiro and Shunsui knew not to pay attention to them. ALthough, they were prepared for something big. They didn't know what was going to happen, but gut feeling told them that it wasn't going to be food.

"So." Ukitake spoke up, breaking the silence. "What do you think we can expect from Aizen in the near future?"

Shunsui looked at his friend with an inquisitive look. He knew Ukitkate for a long time, and he knew where his friend was headed with this conversation.

"I have no idea what his next move may be." Shunsui said honestly.

"Possibly putting himself and Gin through hollowfication?"

"I assume they've already done it." Shunsui replied. "If Tousen went through it, it doesn't make sense for Aizen and Gin to avoid it."

"I wonder how much stronger they'll be." Ukitake said.

"Listen Juushiro." Shunsui said, deciding to bring it out in the open. "You and I are two of the stronges captains in the Gotei 13. There is no reason to doubt yourself because of what happened."

"It happens everytime!" Ukitake snapped, surprising Shunsui.

"Easy there. Need a drink to calm your nerves?" Shunsui said with a smile, pulling a bottle of sake from his robes.

"No thank you." Ukitake replied. Shunsui put the bottle back into his robes. "I'm sorry for yelling. That's not me." He apologized.

"Don't worry about it. And in regards to your earlier statement, there's an easy solution to that problem."

Ukutake turned his head to Shunsui. Looking for the answer to his problem.

"Sit on the side lines, and jump into battle with your Bankai at the exact right moment and one-shot Aizen." Shunsui said jokingly.

Ukitakte laughed. "Yea sure. That's the solution to the whole war." He shook his head in comical disbeleif.

"Don't worry about it. We both know if you had more physical stamina, you'd be stronger than me." Shunsui said as he lied back on the porch, pushing his straw hat over his face to block the sun.

"Ha, don't try to flatter me. We have different abilities and I'm ill-matched against you."

"I said you'd be stronger than me. I didn't say you would be able to beat me in a fight." Shunsui said lazily.

Ukitake merely laughed in response.

* * *

Starrk walked down the halls of Las Noches, the sounds of his foor steps echoed through the corridors. They had been successful in finding a few Vasto Lorde, much to Aizen's pleasure. He lifted his hand and looked at the new tattoo he received once the new Vasto LOrde were exposed to the hogyoku. The back of his hand was still raw from the removal of his old tattoo...twice. After the Vasto Lorde were added to the Espada Starrk was demoted to cuatro. Then he acheived what Aizen wanted from him, he gained the power he should have had if he became an arrancar through the traditional method. So again the tatto was removed and he became the segunda.

His mission with Barragan and Halibel produced four Vasto LOrde who had filled the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th posistions in the Espada. Ulqiorra's second resurrection put him above both Barragan and Halibel but not above the new Espada, so he was demoted quiinto. Barragain and Halibel were demoted to 7th and 8th respectivly. No one had been able to acheive a second resurrection like Ulqiorra had, and when the one week time limit was up, Aizen used the Hogyoku. Lukily, Aizen was bluffing, he tested a second exposure of the hokyoku on numeros instead of on his strongest arrancar. They learned it didn't work, and the numeros were killed by it. It seemed the only way to acheive a second resurrection was by natural means. No short cuts.

"Starrk. Aizen-sama wants you to come to the meeting hall."

Starrk turned to see Lilynette at the end of the hall. He sighed and turned around, walking toward Lilynette and the direction of the meeting hall. He looked Lilynette up and down as he walked towards her. Once Starrk figured out how to become stronger, or a "correct arrancar" as Aizen had put it, Lilynette had changed drastically. He found out that the method of reaching his full potential was the removal of Lilynette's mas. When they split their soul, Starrk was left with all the power, while Lilynette was left with near none. It only took Starrk a day or so to realize that Lilynette had untapped power, and when he figured it out, he instructed her to shatter her mask.

After she broke her mask her entire physical appearence had altered. All that was left of her mast was a thing streak of bone on the top right side of her head that started at the hairline above her eyebrow and curved to the back. The streak of bone was cracked and cut into a thorn-like pattern. Her light yellow/green hair remained the same length, while she didn't Lilynette was now a foot taller and came up to Starrks shoulders. She gree in all ways, while before she had the appearance of a child, now she had the appearance of a woman. Her breasts were now in the large C range and her body curved in all the palces a woman was supposed to curve. She wore the same outfit, albeit a larger size than before. Her revealing jacket gave off a large view of her new cleavage and her collar was now much higher than before, simmilar to Halibel's. Since she didn't zip her jacket up like Halibell did, her lower face was still visible.

Lilynette's soft pink eyes looked at Starrk as he reached her. She turned to walk with him to the meeting hall. "Checking me out again eh?" She asked, teasing  
him.

"I'm not checking you out, I just forget that your still a child under that womanly appearance." Stark replied with the slightest of smirks. Lilynette elbowed him had in the ribs at his subtle jab at her immaturity. He grunted in pain from her attack. Another thing about Lilynette that had changed was her strength. She was near Espada level in strength now. Still weaker than Grimmjow but stronger than an unreleased Yammy. Oddly enough, Starrks own power increased when Lilynette had removed her mask.

They reached the meeting hall and Starrk opened the door to go in, since Lilynette wasn't an Espada she waited outside the room. He walked in and took his seat, everyone else was already there. His eyes moved across the table and landed on Iulia Dobra. The new primera sat with her hands idly on the table. She was olive skinned with light yellow eyes. Her hair was brown and was tied in a braid that reached the centre of her shoulder blades. The remains of her hollow mask were under each eye. The same way Grimmjow had blue markings under his eyes, Iulia had small bone fragments accentuating her light eyes. She was only a few inches shorter that Starrk and had a slimmer body type than Halibel. She wore regular arrancar styled clothes, a white dress with a white jacket over top with one long coat tail that reached her calves. It resembled a skin tight zip-up haori. The only skin she showed were her hands, neck and face.

"Now that everyone is here." Aizen began. "It's time to go through the details."

Starrk listened to Aizen's instructions but for the most part, he let the words pass through his head. Once he got the jist of it, he thoroughly stopped paying attention. Aizen most likely noticed his lack of concentration but said nothing. Starrk rarely gave his full attention to anything, no matter what he was doing. It was a trait that Lilynette found extremely irritating, and it earned him several punches and kicks. The meeting was a short one, all of their meetings were short. So when aizen finally dismissed them, Starrk stood and walked out of the room. He was intent on taking a nap.

"Coyote!" Starrk turned to face Iulia. She was the only person who referred to him by his first name. She seemed to refer to everyone by their first names,  
it was a little odd.

"Yes?" He asked monotonously. He wanted to sleep.

"I was wondering if you could help me." She said. "I'm going to choose fraccion."

Starrk looked at her with a confused expression. "Why do you need my help with that?"

"Because, you've been in Las Noches longer tha I. And I'm sure you know the other arrancar better tha I do."

Starrk said nothing in respsonse, he didn't accept that as her full answer.

"Also, I asuume that there is ill-will between us, since i took your position." Iulia said. "And I don't want that. So come help me choose fraccion and we can get to know eachother."

Starrk smirked and went with the female Espada. _'This should be interesting.'_ He thought.

"Come Lilynette." The girl, who was silent through the whole conversation, perked to attention and jogged to catch up to Starrk and Iulia.

* * *

Hisagi exited Unohana-taicho's office and walked down the halls of the 4th division. His meeting with her was more difficult than the ones he had with the other captains. The other captains had all been fairly easy to convince. Soifon, Hitsugaya and Komamura were the easiest, considering they were drunk as hell. And Ukitake and Kyouraku-taicho both got on board fairly easily. In order to get Unohana's support he had to go through a small test. Unohana had fully interview him as if he were applying for a job. And they weren't easy questions either. He had spent a solid hour in her office answering all of her question to the utmost detail. He knew from the undertone of her voice that if she were to support him than she expected nothing less than excellence from him. And he was willing to oblige in order to get her help.

"Lieutenant Hisagi?"

He looked over at Isane and smiled politly to her. "How's it going Isane-chan?"

"I'm good. How about you?" Isane asked. Her eyes reflected concern. "What are you doing here? You're not hurt again are you?"

She stepped over to him and looked for injuries.

"No no I'm fine. I just had to speak with Unohana-taicho about something." Hisagi said with a smile. He found Isane's unneeded care cute and amusing.

"Oh ok. Did your conversation go well?"

"Yea it went fine. Your captain is very kind."

"Yes she is." Isane agreed. She looked at her feet for a moment than back to Hisagi with a coy expression.

"Where are you going now? Do you have other errands to run?"

"I was just going to go finish up some paperwork, after that I'll probably walk around my division and try and find something to do. "

Isane shifted her weight from foot to foot. She suddenly couldn't look Hisagi in the eye. "Well after your finished your paper work. Would you like to maybe have...dinner?"

Hisagi widened his eyes breifly before smiling. "Are you asking me out on a date Isane-chan?"

Isane nodded shyly.

"Ok. I'd love to have dinner with you."

"Ok." Isane said with enthusiasm. Her shyness disappeared.

Hisagi looked at her and his smile faded slightly when he noticed how close she was. Not that he was uncomfortable with being close to a woman, he just felt a little at odds when he realised he was looking up at her. He never payed much attention to Isane's height, at least not until after they had a date set up. He smiled lightly and bade her farewell, and set a time for their dinner. As he walked away he searched his memory for when how tall Isane actually was. It only took him a few minutes before he remembered.

_'Six feet one inch.'_ He thought, an embarrased look became visible on his face. _'Shit, I'm only five foot, nine.'_

* * *

**Just a quick explanation on Iulia Dobra (pronounced "Eye-ulia Dough-brah"). She's wears the exact same clothes that Orihime wore when she was staying in Las Noches. I'm going to provide drawings of all O.C's later on. They won't be masterpeices, just a quick sketch to give you an idea on what they basically look like. With Iulia, I'm just going to copy a pic of Orihime in the arrancar clothing and then just draw a new head. lol.**

**Please Review.**


	4. Almost

**Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update. I had a lot of distractions and wasn't able to sit down and write. Like I promised, this chapter is at a proper length. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Komamura walked down the streets of Seireitei on his way to the captain's meeting room. He remembered years ago when they would have one or two meetings a week. Now with the war, they were having three to four a week. The amount of wfork he was responsible for was enough as it was. And when they had a meeting, that was at least an hour off his day he could have been using to work. He would never complain out loud, he knew that communication between the captains was absolutely necessary.

He arrived outside the hall five minutes early and waited outside with everyone else. He looked around at all the captains who had come with their vice captains at their sides. He absently looked to his side and saw no one, Tetsuzaemon was gone. The reality of it shook him every single day. He remembered a particular meeting a while ago, when Yamamoto advised them to look for new shinigami to fill the vice-captain position. Soifon had found a new lieutenant easily enough, he had found his own easily enough as well.

He knew that his 3rd seat was qualified enough to take the position, but Komamura couldn't bring himself to fill the position so easily. Tetsuzaemon was more than just a soldier, he was a friend. Komamura trusted that man with everything and everything. The same way he trusted Tousen and Hisagi. In Komamura's eyes, no one could fill Tetsuzaemon's spot. The only other man that Komamura could consider his lieutenant was Hisagi Shuuhei. He would be honored to have Hisagi as his lieutenant but that wasn't going to happen. Hisagi had his own ambitions. And even if he gunning for captaincy, Komamura wouldn't fill Tetsuzaemon's position so quickly.

The doors of the the captain's hall opened and Sasakibe Chojiro stepped out and waved the captains in. He stepped aside and politely allowed the captains to pass. Komamura was the last to walk through the doors and Chojiro closed them behind him. He would most likely start the lieutenants meeting. Komamura stepped into his place in line and waited patiently. Everyone took their positions and stood two lines facing each other with Yamamoto standing at the front of the lines.

He tapped his cane on the ground once before he began. "I'd like to start off by informing you that the vizard have departed to the real world this morning. They will be staying with Urahara Kisuke for an indefinite amount of time. It is my understanding that they will be launching an attack on Las Noches some time soon. I request that every one of you are prepared to travel to Hueco Mundo should they need assistance."

Komamura sighed inwardly as he took a step forward.

_'Here it goes.'_ He thought. Komamura hated interrupting Yamamoto but, now was the best time.

"My apologies Soutaicho." He began. "I feel I should interrupt you now at the beginning of the meeting rather than later on during more pressing issues." He said politely.

"Very well Komamura-taicho. Speak your peace."

"Lieutenant Hisagi wishes to take the captain's position of the 9th division. I would like to nominate him to fill that position." Komamura said.

"Lieutenant Hisagi approached you personally with this request?" Yamamoto asked.

Komamura nodded.

"Does Lieutenant Hisagi plan on taking the Captain Proficiency Exam or does is this Personal Recommendation?"

"This is through Personal Recommendation." Komamura said.

"Very well. Would the six captains who are recommending Lieutenant Hisagi for the position of Captain of the 9th division step forward one by one and state a brief explanation as to why he would be able to fill the position. Starting with you Komamura-taicho."

"Lieutenant Hisagi displayed great merit during the battle in Karakura. His actions and tact are what kept both me and himself alive while we fought Tousen Kaname."

Komamura stepped back into his spot in line. Soifon stepped forward once he was finished to state her reason.

"After Lieutenant Hisagi approached me and asked for my recommendation I reviewed the reports from Karakura. His methods of battling Tousen were ingenious. The ability to think quickly and develop a competent strategy is what we need in these times of war." Soifon stepped back to her spot in line.

"What did he do?" Kenpachi asked.

"Didn't you read the report?" Mayuri asked with an impatient tone.

"Fuck no. Why would I do that?" Kenpachi replied with a grin.

"It is required to read the reports. That's why!" Mayuri snapped back. The two of them bickered all the time, Mayuri had little patience for Kenpachi and Kenpachi loved to instigate him in hopes of having a reason to fight.

"Hisagi used the chain of his Shikai in combination with Kido to track Tousen in his own Bankai." Byakuya interrupted before their argument got out of control.

Kenpachi snorted. "His Bankai isn't hard to counter."

Mayuri opened his mouth to argue but Yamamoto slammed his cane on the ground nip the argument at the bud.

Unohana stepped forward to fill the silence. "I interviewed Lieutenant Hisagi personally for an hour when he approached me for my recommendation. Through that conversation I learned that he is a very intelligent and mature individual. He has a strong sense of morals and leadership. He is ready to lead the 9th division." She stepped back into her place in line.

Kyouraku Shunsui stepped forward. "Hisagi-san approached both me and Ukitake. He is the strongest lieutenant we have. He'll do a great job as captain." Shunsui smiled and stepped back. Hitsugaya stepped forward.

"Kyouraku-taicho is correct when he states that Hisagi is the strongest lieutenant. I've spoken with Hisagi many times before. He is mentally ready to take the position. While he may not have achieved Bankai I know that he is close. It won't be much longer before he does achieve Bankai."

"Yes lieutenant lacks Bankai. But it's clear that his power is equal to a captain's Shikai. I'm willing to bet that he could fight evenly with most captains in this room with both parties using Shikai."

He stepped back and Yamamoto spoke up. "Very well, bring Lieutenant Hisagi in."

* * *

Hisagi stood stoically as he listened to the others speak. The vice-captain's meetings never lasted very long. They didn't have much to speak of, so they finished up quickly. He looked through the room, the much less populated room, and frowned. He missed them all.

"Shuuhei-san! Why are you so quiet?" Rangiku walked up to him smiling.

"Just thinking." He said with a smile. His eyes automatically dropped to her cleavage.

"I heard you and Isane-chan went on a date." She said in a sing-song voice.

He forced his eyes back to her face. She smiled at him like she always did when he blatantly looked at her chest. It didn't bother her, she knew that Hisagi had a perverted side, and it wasn't like she tried to be modest about her huge breasts.

"Yea we did." He said, his eyes dropped again to her chest for a split second and he brought them back up to her face.

"Wellllll?" She asked with the same sing-song voice. "How was it?"

"It was good. I had a lot of fun."

Rangiku clapped her hands together with a huge smile on her face. Hisagi's eyes once again dropped to her chest. Her hand movements caused them to jiggle ever so slightly.

_'Fuck.'_ He thought as he brought his eyes back up to her face. He looked over to Isane who wasn't paying attention. He was glad she wasn't watching. She could be coy and shy at times but she still had a fierce personality.

"Shuuhei." He turned to Komamura who stood behind him. "It's time."

He nodded and turned back to Rangiku. When he turned back he noticed all the lieutenants were looking at him.

"Yo. What's up?" Ikkaku shouted.

"I'm being nominated for captaincy." He said back. A couple of them widened their eyes. He gauged all of their reactions, many seemed to be either happy with the news or surprised. Renji had a small frown apparently unhappy with the news. Hisagi wasn't surprised. Renji achieved Bankai long ago, and while he was fine with remaining lieutenant, there hadn't even been any talk of him becoming a captain. Renji said once that he didn't care if he was captain or not, he just wanted the recognition.

Hisagi said bye to Rangiku and waved to everyone. He heard a couple "congratulations" as he walked. He walked up to the captain's meeting room with Komamura and took a deep breath before stepping inside. Komamura took his position in line with the rest of the captains and Hisagi stood opposite of Yamamoto. He placed his hands behind his back politely.

"Lieutenant Hisagi, six captains have recommended you to become captain of the 9th division. I'm sure you already know that you need three more captains to agree with the recommendation in order for you to become captain."

"I understand Soutaicho." He replied.

"We will cast the vote now. I will go last. I want each captain to step forward one by one and cast your vote with a brief explanation as to why you voted the way you did. We will start with Chick-taicho, then Kurotsuchi and Zaraki."

Byakuya stepped forward. "I do not feel that Lieutenant Hisagi should be captain. While I do not want to belittle his skills nor his intelligence and maturity, he is not strong enough. I admit he is an extremely powerful individual, the lack of Bankai is not something to be ignored. You all know that I did not even support my own lieutenant when some of you wanted to promote him. His Bankai was far from perfect and was not up to par with what a captain's power should be. While lieutenant Hisagi is nearly equal to a captain's Shikai, the lack of Bankai cannot be ignored."

_'That's fair I guess.'_ Hisagi thought, he looked to Mayuri and exhaled. Since there were only ten captains left, he needed nine of them to vote for him. Since Byakuya said no, then he needed everyone else to agree.

_'C'mon you freaky guy, say yes.'_

Mayuri looked at Hisagi and a small tingle went down his spine. The man was far to weird for his liking.

"I frankly couldn't care less who becomes captain." Mayuri said with a wave of his hand. "Let him be captain."

Hisagi smirked and looked at Kenpachi as he stepped forward lazily.

"Bankai is overrated." He said and stepped back in line, clearly bored with the whole meeting.

"It looks like I am the deciding vote." He said.

...

Hisagi looked around at the other captains. Yamamoto stood the silently, not budging an inch. He stood that way silently for about a minute with out giving any indication that he was even alive. He had heard that Yamamoto would zone out from time to time and not say anything. No one really knew if he was asleep or just thinking.

"I've considered the words of all captains." He spoke up finally, looking at Hisagi. "Most." He emphasized. "Made very good points."

Hisagi glanced at Mayuri and Kenpachi. Mayuri was frowning while Kenpachi was grinning.

"With the opinions of all captains in mind. I vote that Lieutenant Hisagi will..."

The doors opened suddenly surprising everyone. Hisagi cursed in his head at the sudden intrusion.

An older shinigami stepped into the meeting halls. He had a finely trimmed short black beard and short black hair. He walked into the hall with authority. His old wrinkled face stared down all of them as if they were the ones who offended him.

"We are in the middle of a captain's meeting. Remove yourself from our sight." Yamamoto said aggressively.

_'Damn he's pissed.'_

"The Central 46 demand your presence Yamamoto-Genryusai Shingekuni." He said. The man stood with an air of smugness that reminded Hisagi of Aizen.

"We are in the middle of a captain's meeting. Remove yourself from our sight." Yamamoto repeated. "Tell the Central 46 that I will arrive after we finish electing a new captain."

_'Electing a new captain.'_ Hisagi repeated in his head. _'Does that mean he was going to vote yes?'_

"You will not elect any new captains. You will go to the Central 46 now."

_'Intense.' _He thought.

Suddenly the room was filled with a heavy reitsu. It was so unexpected and came so suddenly that Hisagi grunted softly. He composed himself quickly so that he didn't look weak in front of everyone. His fists clenched and his face hardened in concentration. His whole body went stiff trying not to shake from the blanket of reitsu that was smothering him. All in all he felt that he was handling it fairly well. He heard that Nanao was paralyzed and nearly suffocated from Yamamoto's reitsu. He looked around the room to see the captain's reactions so that he could compare their outward appearance to his own.

Ukitake didn't show any sign of discomfort at all. Shunsui and Unohana mirrored Ukitake, it was as if nothing was happening for the three of them. Mayuri was shifting his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. Kenpachi was grinning like a mad man, obviously the new conflict had made the meeting interesting for him. Hitsugaya had an uncomfortable expression on and had a few small beads of sweat on his forehead. Hisagi could see the hair on the back of Komamura's neck was standing up. Soifon seemed to be reacting the exact same as Hisagi, with a tense body and clenched fists. He looked at Byakuya who seemed completely unaffected. Seemed unaffected, but just as Hisagi went to look a way he saw Byakuya's jaw clench.

It wasn't until he glanced at Yamamoto that he realized what was really going on. Yamamoto's eyes were open wide with anger. When he saw this that's when he noticed that everyone was glancing at the older shinigami who had walked in. Hisagi smirked at what was about to happen next, he looked back at the older shinigami.

"You dare try to intimidate the Soutaicho of the Gotei 13 with your Reitsu?" Yamamoto said. His words dripping with ire. The room was filled with twice as much spiritual pressure as Yamamoto began to retaliate.

This time Hisagi didn't manage to keep his composure quite as well. His body began to visibly shudder. He looked around the room to see the change in everyones demeanor. Everyones own little method of dealing with the reitsu had become far more pronounced. This time Shunsui, Ukitake and Unohana actually appeared uncomfortable. Hisagi glanced at a very angry looking Byakuya, who was looking back at him. Hisagi noticed the questioning nature of Byakuya's look and realized his mistake. Hisagi shuddered more visibly and dropped to one knee panting. He looked back up at Byakuya and the noble's questioning look faded.

_'Hopefully that worked.'_ Hisagi thought. He looked back at the older shinigami and smirked. The man was beginning to look slightly affected by Yamamoto's Reitsu. Hisagi looked back and forth between the old men, noting who was winning this little stand off. Yamamoto appeared to be sleeping, or at least standing very comfortably. This stand off continued for another few moments before the old shinigami exhaled quickly and took a few quick breaths. It became obvious that the man was holding his breath trying to out match Yamamoto, but lost.

"Ha ha. And we have a winner." Kenpachi said with a manic smile. "Care to take me on new guy?" Kenpachi said staring at the old shinigami, with one hand on his eye patch.

"No he won't Zaraki-taicho." Yamamoto said as he began walking towards the door. "This meeting is postponed until I finish speaking with the Central 46."

He began to walk and as he was passing the old shinigami, the man smiled smugly. He looked at the captains with an expression that announced superiority.

"Don't seem so happy." Shunsui spoke allowed. "Yama-ji isn't the type to keep the Central 46 waiting. If you pulled that stunt under any other circumstances than he probably wouldn't have stopped until you passed out."

The older shinigami looked down at Shunsui as if he were homeless before he turned and walked with Yamamoto towards the Central 46.

* * *

"Welcome, welcome." Urahara said in a melodic tone.

The vizards walked into the massive training area underneath Urahara's shop and greeted the man. He stood with Yoruichi and Tessai waiting for the vizards, he had a small pack slung over his shoulder.

"What's in the bag?" Lisa asked.

"Just some equiptment. I'll need it when we get into Las Noches." He said happily. He turned and dragged his cane through the air in a zig zag pattern. The air tore like fabric and a garganta opened. He stepped into it, a path of spiritual energy forming at his feet as a bridge. The vizard stepped up to the garganta but Urahara put his hand up to stop them.

"You don't all need to come. Three of you is fine. Preferably Hachi being one of the three. His skills would be most helpful." Urahara said with a smile.

Hachi stepped forward into the garganta as the other vizard spoke on who would be going with them. After a few moments Rose and Lisa both stepped into the garganta. It closed behind them and the four shinigami took off into the void towards Hueco Mundo."

"So Yoruichi. How come you aren't going along with him?" Shinji asked the dark woman.

"They'll be back soon. Besides It's been a while since I've seen any of you."

"It has been." Kensei said.

"We've missed you Yoruichi." Mashiro said loudly and hugged the other woman. Kensei's brow twitched in irritation at his former lieutenant.

"So what do we do now?" Mashiro asked with a finger on her chin and looking up.

"Well we coul..."

"Oh, this shop has candy doesn't it?" She asked Yoruichi, interrupting Kensei.

"Well I'm sure it does." Yoruichi said. Before she could say anything else Mashiro took off out of the underground training area and up to the shop.

"Fuck." Kensei swore. "You should have lied. You think she's crazy now?"

Yoruichi shrugged.

"Ahhhhh!" He shouted in frustration and dropped into a sitting position and hung his head.

"Why do you always get so bent out of shape with Mashiro?" Shinji asked. "We don't have much of a problem with her hyperness."

"That's because all of her hyper attention is set on me." Kensei groaned.

As if on queue Mashiro came running back into the training area. Kensei quickly got to his feet but was knocked back down as Mashiro barreled into him. She sat on his chest looking down at him.

"Why are you on the ground Kensei?" She asked.

"FUCK!!!"

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Lisa asked Urahara as they walked through the dessert of Hueco Mundo.

"Well, we're going to infiltrate Las Noches, do some scouting, maybe beat up some arrancar and then leave." He said. "Well, not before we put this little baby to use." He swung the bag he was carrying as he walked. He was clearly excited with what ever contraption he brought along.

They walked for about ten minutes before they reached Las Noches, they all shunpo'd to the palace quickly and stood outside the wall.

"Hachi, can you do the honors?" Rose asked. He waved his hand toward the wall and gave a bow.

Hachi nodded and walked forward. He brought his hand to his head and summoned his hollow mask. With a clap of his hands he created a glowing box in the wall. He waved his arms and the box of kido was pulled from the wall. the large section of wall that was inside the box of kido came out as well. He moved the box out of the way and ended the kido spell then removed his mask. A perfect square hole was left in the wall of Las Noches that the group leisurely walked through. They ran through the halls of Las Noches as quickly as possible. Urahara said that he needed a nice large space to set up his invention. They turned a corner and ran into an empty room. At least they thought it was empty until they noticed a fat arrancar looking at them from a corner

"DIE SHINIGAMI!" The thing shouted as soon as he saw them.

The arrancar began to charge a cero but both Rose and Lisa charged him. They raised their swords and swung. Lisa cut him across his waist first, and Rose brought his down on the hollow's shoulder. He screamed and slashed at Rose but the vizard pulled his sword out of his shoulder and spun to avoid the claw. Lisa thrust her sword through the center of it's chest as Rose continued to spin until he was behind the arrancar. WIth a quick powerful slash, Rose cut the arrancar's midsection in the same place Lisa had first cut. His slash met with the damage that Lisa had left and cut the arrancar in half.

"I'm going to need you to erect a barrier and hide us the best you can Hachi." Urahara said as he closed the door. Urahara pulled a small rubix like object out of the bag. He sat cross legged and began to pump his reiryoku into the rubix. "If you could strengthen your barrier as much as possible. It'd be much appreciated." Urahara said politely. The rubix like object began to float and glow. Urahara nimbly touched it with his fingers as the object began to shift and turn on itself randomly.

"How does it work?" Lisa asked.

"More importantly. What does it do?" Rose added.

"Do any of you know how a computer works?"

They all nodded. While computers were extremely uncommon in soul society, the vizard lived in the real world for half a century.

"Do you know how a computer virus works?"

They nodded slowly. They knew what a virus did, but they weren't entirely sure how it worked.

"Well basically. This thing is searching and scouting the entirety of Las Noches. It's mapping it. And once it finishes mapping, it will start planting little bugs."

"I assume all of it is made of your reiryoku?" Hachi asked.

"Yea, that's what the barrier is for. There are webs of my reiryoku rapidly moving through Las Noches. Your barrier will buy us some time before they find out where our location."

"Wait, if you have a net of your reiryoku spreading though Las Noches. That means every single living being in this palace knows we're here." Lisa said, a hint of panic in her voice.

"That is correct. Be ready everyone. From the feel of it..." He said as he moved his fingers over the gyrating device.

"...There are already a few who found us through your barrier Hachi."

Rose sighed in frustration. Drawing his sword again.

"And whoever it is, they're strong as hell."

* * *

"Yamamoto-Genryusai Shigekuni. You stand before us because we no longer feel that you can properly fulfill your position as Soutaicho!"

Yamamoto stood in the Central 46 chambers alone. The room was completely pitch black, the only light was the spotlight on Yamamoto. He stood looking at the dark silhouettes of the Central 46 members. He gave no sign that what he just heard had affected him in anyway. He stood there silently waiting to hear the reasons for their accusation.

"Your leadership has resulted in the slaughter of the previous Central 46, the destruction of the Sokyoku. The defection of three captains, the deaths of various lieutenants and seated officers. As well as the fact that you have failed to end this war quickly." The members of the Central 46 took turns speaking. Yamamoto never heard the same voice speak twice.

"War's are never ended quickly." Yamamoto replied with a neutral tone.

"The fact that you could not defeat Aizen in the Karakura battle is jaw dropping. Three captains and a few hollow were all that was stopping you from winning. And even with the help of the exiled you could not win."

"I do not blame any of you for not knowing what battle is like. It is only natural that you would not understand." He replied.

Angry chatter rose through the Central 46. Yamamoto stood patiently and waited for them to calm down.

"If you insist on removing me from my position as Soutaicho. A position that I alone have held for the past two thousand years, than I will be electing Unohana Retsu to fill the position."

"You will not elect anyone to fill the position." One of them spoke up before he turned to leave. "You will not leave, we aren't finished this meeting just yet."

"If you do not wish for Unohana Retsu to become Soutaicho than that is your decision. But I would like to inform you that the position will be filled with either her, Ukitake Juushiro or Kyouraku Shunsui."

"You think we will allow your preferred captains to fill your position? If we did that than there wouldn't be any change in leadership. And the same failure will result."

"I am not nominating 'preferred captains' as you put it. Those three captains have been captains of the Gotei 13 for over three-hundred years. They are the only ones qualified to take the position of Soutaicho." Yamamoto said.

"Wrong." Someone said rudely.

Yamamoto merely waited silently for them to explain themselves.

"We have chosen to elect the new Soutaicho. Someone who hasn't been apart of the Gotei 13. Someone who hasn't been tainted by your failed leadership."

"The position of Soutaicho cannot be filled by someone who is not part of the Gotei 13. It is against the law!" He said with a slam of his cane.

"We are the law." Someone said back defiantly.

"You think you are the law. I thought that we proved to you that you weren't when we vetoed your decision of re-banishing the vizard?" Yamamoto said.

"Yes you did manage to overturn that decision. However..."

Someone else finished his sentence. "...we have declared the war measures act. We are in war times. And during war times, this act allows us to have full control of soul society."

"We are bending the rules to allow someone we feel is fit to take the position of Soutaicho. Hosokawa Okahito."

The old shinigami who had so rudely interrupted the captain's meeting had stepped forward into the light with the same air of smugness as before. He smiled a wrinkled smile at Yamamoto and stepped back into the darkness."

"That is not all. We feel that your tainted leadership will continue to taint the Gotei 13. Therefore..."

"...We are removing you from the Gotei 13. You may reside anywhere within Rukogankai as long as you do not cause trouble. You are hereby banished from Seireitei indefinably."

"Very well." Yamamoto said. "Remember. That this banishment cannot last forever. Once the war ends, or if Hosokawa is deemed unfit for Soutaicho. And he IS unfit. I will be back."

Yamamoto turned and exited the Central 46 chambers.

* * *

Ukitake sat down and breathed heavily. His illness began to act up as they waited for Yamamoto to get back from the Central 46. Retsu was running her healing hands over his chest to help him through the pain. While it was impossible to cure or remove the pain completely, healing kido could ease the pain significantly. He breathed in more calmly as the pain in his chest subsided, with the pain lightening he could focus on other things. Namley, Retsu's soft hands running along his chest. Her cool fingers traced lines down his chest as her hands moved up and down healing him. He smiled and looked into her eyes. He nodded, telling her that he was fine. She gracefully helped him to his feet and he leaned in close to her ear. Close enough to whisper, but not close enough to catch the eyes of any other captain.

"You and I should have tea later today." He said quietly.

"Is tea your new code word now?"

"Yes and no. I would actually like some tea before I do dirty things to you." He said with a low growl.

She giggled in response. Before he could say anything else Shunsui clapped him on the back fairly roughly.

"Feeling better Juushiro?" He asked.

Ukitake coughed, a little bit of blood splattered onto his hand.

"I was feeling fantastic until you did that." He said as he coughed again, this time much more blood came up. Retsu ushered him to take a seat and began to heal him again. He heard Shunsui apologize several times.

_'Retsu is probably giving him one of those super scary glares that she's so good at.'_ He thought. He sat with his eyes closed and breathed in deeply as Retsu ran her hands along his chest again, healing him. He hummed silently to himself and listened. If it weren't for the talk of the other captains, he could probably fall asleep. He sat like that for a few moments until Unohana pulled her hands away. He could hear the rustle of her robes as she stood.

He opened his eyes to see all of the captains watching Yamamoto as he entered the Captain's meeting hall, the old shinigami from before followed him. Ukitake slowly got to his feet and stood to attention.

"The Central 46 have invoked the war measures act. They now have authority over the Gotei 13 and the four noble houses."

Chatter broke out through the captains at the news. The 46 were already being enough of a problem. Now that they had almost complete authority, it meant a hell of a lot of trouble for them.

"With this new authority. They have decided to temporarily banish me from Seireitei. This man, Hosokawa Okahito will be filling my position as Soutaicho."

"Like hell he is!" Shunsui and Ukitake shouted in unison. Ukitake coughed lightly afterwards, but didn't spit up any blood this time.

"It is what the Central 46 has decreed." Yamamoto said. "You will follow the law."

"Sorry Yama-ji." Shunsui said. "But we're not the same law abiding shinigami as you."

"If you go. Then we go." Ukitake said. He turned and stepped towards the door. He saw Shunsui and Komamura mirror him. Yamamoto slammed his cane into the ground hard. They turned to face him.

"We are in the middle of a war! You will not abandon your posts over asinine foolishness!"

"He's right. We cannot allow personal reasons to put lives at risk. We have responsibilities." Unohana said. Ukitake shuddered slightly. She was giving of that aura that struck fear in everyone around her. She looked at him with a look in her eyes he recognized.

_'Fuck. I think my childishness just cost me my "tea". I''m going to have to do some damage control later.'_ He sighed in frustration.

"You will treat Hosokawa Okahito as the new Soutaicho." Yamamoto said with authority.

"Yes you will, because I am the Soutaicho now." He stepped forward and waved his arms. "Now I need to inform you. That the Central 46 has given me more authority than the Soutaicho would normally have. To demonstrate my new authority, I'll be filling the missing captain positions.

"You have the authority to elect shinigami to captaincy by yourself?" Byakuya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I do. Now I introduce the three new captains of the Gotei 13."

"Hosokawa Seiichi." A young male shinigami with long black hair stepped into the captain's hall.

"Hosokawa Jiro." A slightly older male shinigami stepped into the captain's all.

"And Hosokawa Koaru." A female shinigami stepped into the captain's hall.

"You elected your children for captaincy?" Byakuya asked. With rude disbelief in his tone.

"Yes I did. And I would like to inform you that these three captains have more authority than everyone else. The Central 46 feels that you are all tainted with the improper leadership of Yamamoto. They trust myself and my choices for captains more than they trust any of you. So while you may technically all have seniority over these three new captains, they in fact, have seniority over you.

_'This is going to be bad.'_ Ukitake thought. The hall erupted in angry outbursts. Eventually Yamamoto silenced the room. Even though he probably didn't care to hear what Hosokawa was going to say next, Ukitake knew how much Yamamoto hated listening to the captains argue or shout.

"Now, We will kick off this meeting properly." He said as he lightly nudged Yamamoto out of the center spot at the end of the lines. "Yamamoto. You are no longer needed here. You have two hours to remove yourself from Seireitei. I suggest you get going."

Hosokawa waved his hand to Yamamoto as if he was shooing a fly or telling a child to get lost. Ukitake scowled at the immense display of disrespect. Yamamoto merely walked out of the room. To Hosokawa, it seemed like Yamamoto was submissive and obeying him. But Ukitake knew Yamamoto better. The old man followed the law to the tee. And this banishment was only temporary. When he came back, he would be coming back with vengeance. Hosokawa would face Yamamoto's wraith, just not today.

"To start things off..." Hosokawa stopped as the Gotei 13 began to leave. "Where are you all going. We're in the middle of a meeting."

"Well we have a lot of work to do. And while you may have complete authority, there still isn't anything you can do to stop us from leaving short of trying to force us to stay. And I doubt you have the balls to try and start a fight with all of us." Shunsui said.

"I am Soutaicho. I will not tolerate this insubordination! You will show me the same respect you showed Yamamoto."

"Naw. I think we'll show you the same respect you showed him a few moments ago." Kenpachi said with a dry laugh.

The captains all walked out of the hall together. Shunsui was right when he said that Hosokawa couldn't do anything. They'd all probably get a write-up on their record, some budget cuts, some disciplinary actions on their respective divisions. But all in all, there was nothing he could really do to stop them from walking out. Ukitake looked back at the hall. The only ones that remained inside were the Hosokawa family and Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Mayuri staying behind didn't surprise Ukitake in the slightest.

_'He probably wants to suck up early.'_ Ukitake thought. _'Perhaps Hosokawa will approve some of the research that Yamamoto wouldn't allow Mayuri to conduct.'_

**I'll be updating soon. The next chapter will have some serious fighting. Be ready for the action.**

**Please Review**


	5. Motivation

**Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update, I had alot of distractions to deal with. I got a surprise for those of you who have been waiting for an update. Hopfully you'll like it, hopefully it makes up for my lateness.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

"Fuck." Rose cursed as his opponent once again avoided his attack. He swept his arm back and brought his whip like shikai sweeping across the air. The espada he was fighting ducked and appeared in Rose's face with a buzz of sonido. Rose raised his hand and caught the fist of the espada before he could punch Rose in the face. The strength of the arrancar overwhelmed Rose and he began to fall back towards the ground. The arrancar pushed him through the air aggressively and raised his hand in a straight fashion.

The Espada lunged forward with his other hand to pierce Rose's chest. The blonde vizard jerked his sword hand back and blocked the espada's hand with the hilt of his shikai. He simultaneously pulled the whip of his shikai down onto the espada's back. The rose like tip slammed into the arrancars back and he grunted in pain. Rose quickly kicked the espada back and began to tap on his shikai rapidly.

"Kinshara Sokyoku Dai Juichiban - Izayoi Bara." He exclaimed with a smirk. He was pushed back forcefully by the resulting explosion from his shikai.

He exhaled lightly and touched his feet to the roof of Las Noches. He waited at full alert for the smoke to clear. It turned out he didn't have to wait for the smoke to clear. He jumped back a few feet as a streak of smoke came down on the roof. The trail of smoke dissipated quickly and the arrancar stood facing Rose with most of his clothes burnt off.

"That hurt a little." The arrancar exclaimed as he rubbed his shoulder lightly.

"It's supposed to." Rose replied.

The espada reached up to the tattered remains of his coat and tore it off. With the coat removed Rose could now see the tattoo on his neck that signified his rank in the espada.

"Nice tattoo." Rose said.

The espada reached up and rubbed the three that was tattooed on the centre left side of his neck.

"Jernej Hrovat. Tercera Espada." The espada gave a mock bow. "And who might you be?"

"Otoribashi Rojuro. Former captain of the 3rd division. Currently the most artistic member of the vizard. You may call me 'Rose.'" Rose gave a far more elegant bow and waved his hand as he did so.

Jernej intertwined his fingers and cracked his knuckles. Rose looked the man up and down as he did so. Jernej had straight black hair that fell an inch or so past his shoulders. His bangs were straight and even, they reached down to his chin and covered most of his face. His skin was lightly tanned and he his hollow hole was located at his waist line just below his belly button. Jernej finished cracking his knuckles and jerked his head back quickly, flipping his bangs out of his face and over his head. Rose looked at his face, he had brilliant blue eyes with streaks of green. His chin was covered in bone like a goatee with teeth pointing upward. Four small teeth reached partially up his chin and two large canines came up to the corner of his lips. The remains of his hollow mask only covered the small part of his chin below his mouth. His zanpaktou was strapped to his right hip in a regular fashion

"Are you gay or something?" Jernej asked.

Rose raised his eyebrow in surprise at the random question. "No. Why? Are you?"

Jernej furrowed his eyebrows in irritation. "No. You're just staring at me weird."

"I was just analyzing my opponent. Knowing all the physical characteristics of your opponent is an art that aids one in battle." Rose said.

Jernej sighed and crouched slightly. "You are gay." He said just before he dashed forward at Rose with tremendous speed.

Rose barley had time to shunpo out of the way to avoid Jernej's attack. He twirled his shikai and yanked back hard. The whip twirled around Jernej and was pulled back, the flower tip spiraled around Jernej and cut him shallowly. He merely smiled and appeared behind Rose. The buzz of sonido was cut off by the sound of breaking bones when he kicked Rose's side. Rose flew through the air and recovered as quick as possible. His arm had been snapped at the elbow.

Jernej continued his attack and lunged forward intending to pierce Rose with his straightened fingers. Rose raised the hilt of his whip above his head and pulled it down with a twirl. The whip spun around him in a spiral cone. A whistling tune sounded as Jernej closed the distance between them. Jernej expertly ducked through the cone Rose spun around himself. He moved to Rose's side and drew his zanpaktou and slashed Rose's side.

Rose smirked as Jernej's blade ran across his side without cutting him. He dropped down out of the spiral cone he made with his shikai and pulled down hard. The whip wrapped around Jernej tightly.

"Golden sal Tree Sonata Number Seven-Fourteen Illustrations of the Soul." Rose said coolly.

He ran two fingers down his whip and ended at the hilt of his weapon. The coils around Jernej glowed and light expanded in disks. Jernej screamed in pain as the disks of light went back into the whip wrapped around him.

Rose pulled down and threw Jernej into the roof. He quickly pulled his zanpaktou up and wrapped it around his broken arm. He began to use healing kido and pushed the energy into his whip. The whole whip glowed with the healing light.

"What the hell is with your zanpaktou?" Jernej asked as he floated back up to Rose's level. His body was cut in a spiral where the whip was wrapped around him. From his shoulder down to his feet.

"I see your hierro prevented you from being cut into ribbons." Rose answered back as he unwrapped his whip from his arm. He stretched the healed arm and flexed his fingers.

"You didn't answer my question." Jernej said.

"You didn't answer mine." Rose replied coolly. Jernej growled and Rose chuckled. "I'll tell you about my Shikai."

"Please do." Jernej said with an irritated tone.

"My Shikai is like a piano. Do you know what a piano is?"

Jernej nodded slowly. Even though Hueco Mundo had no sort of technology, he had been to the human world enough times to know what a piano was.

"Piano's have tremendous potential. The music they create is only limited by the one playing it. My shikai is the same, it is only limited by my own creativity. I tap the sections of this whip as if they were keys on a keyboard. And I can do virtually any type of attack." Rose said with a proud smile.

"Defense as well I assume? I should have cleaved you in half when I cut you. But nothing happened."

"Defense as well." Rose replied.

Rose ended their short conversation as he raised his hand and lashed out at Jernej. His whip snapped against the blade of Jernej loudly. He whipped him again but Jernej batted it away with the back of his hand. He charged Rose and slashed at him diagonally. Rose turned to avoid the attack but Jernej slammed his palm into his chest. Rose grunted painfully as he felt his sternum crack and he flew backward. As he fell he spun and wrapped himself in his shikai. He quickly used some healing kido and healed the cracked bone. Jernej came down at him in his tangled state to slash him.

Just before he cut into him six flat beams of light slammed into his mid section and pinned him in place. Rose untangled himself just as Jernej shattered the binding spell with brute force. He slashed out and Rose blocked with the base of his whip. The tip of his shikai came up and slammed into Jernej's side. Rose brought his hand up and began to tap on his shikai but Jernej hit him in the chest with a bala before he could finish the technique.

Jernej used sonido and moved behind Rose and slashed him across his back. As blood splattered his face he kicked Rose's side and sent him flying through the roof of Las Noches, back into the halls.

Rose grunted and got to his feet with effort. He panted deep breaths as he looked up at a cero ready to be fired down on him. He reached his hand to the top of his head and pulled down his hollow mask just as the cero came down on him. He reached his hand out and caught the blast with his palm. He held the blast and lashed out with his whip. The tip disappeared in the red beam and he felt it connect with Jernej's hand. The cero ended and Rose flew through the hole in the roof.

With his mask on he waved his shikai around himself intricately and tapped on parts of the whip as it came in reach of his hand. A melodious tune rang through the air as he near completion of his technique.

* * *

Lisa slashed out at her opponents chest as quickly as she could, but the attack was parried with little difficulty. He retaliated and a small wound opened on her shoulder. She lifted her hand to her face and drew her hollow mask as he opened another wound on her side. A massive surge of power rushed through her system and she slashed out systematically to rapid for her opponent to keep up with. Small cuts were opened on his body. Although he was too slow to block every attack he was still quick enough to prevent her from getting a fatal blow.

"That damn mask again." He said as he locked blades with her. "I'm starting to get annoyed with seeing them."

Lisa didn't reply. Instead she charged a cero in her palm and blasted it at the espada. She didn't waste time in battle to speak, especially when she was on a time limit.

"Smash, Haguro Tonbo." She said sternly. The espada she fought had been unaffected by her cero but she didn't care. She shunpo'd forward and slashed downward powerfully with her halberd. Her weapon was caught by the staff end by her opponent. He stabbed out toward her face and she narrowly avoided it. His blade cut a small section from the side of her mask. Lisa pulled her weapon back and drew her opponent in to her, as he was pulled in she kneed him hard in the chest. He grunted lightly and flickered out of sight. She turned just in time to block his slash.

He slashed again and she parried again. He slashed a third time, this time too quick for her to block. His impaled her stomach and then tore out her side. He turned slightly and caught her halberd with his other hand from behind. Without even turning to face her he watched as her after image faded.

"That ability is the same as Zommari's. To move so fast you leave an after image behind to fool your opponent." He said as he turned to face her. Just as he saw her she attempted to punch him in the face. He disappeared in a flicker.

He tried to cut her from behind but she flickered away and attacked him from a different angle. Their battle became quick slashes, blocks, dodges and misses as they used shunpo and sonido repeatedly. They flashed in and out of battle leaving just blurs and the sound of their blades clashing. Blood dripped from the sky randomly as they cut each other periodically. Their high paced battle became even more chaotic as the espada fired of a cero. Lisa met his cero with her own and the sky was lit with red and green.

Their blows were traded off evenly. When one struck the other blocked, when one cut the other, the other cut back. It became evident that the fight couldn't last forever in this fashion. Lisa's mask began to crack around the spot that was cut earlier. The cracks spread to cover her entire mask and pieces of bone began to flake off as they fought. It wasn't long before her mask shattered completely and the espada slashed her down her back. She exhaled as she fought to remain concentrated on the battle. Rather than allowing the pain of the wound to distract her, she swung her spear behind her and smacked her opponent with the club end of her spear. She felt that her attack was blocked and spun, she lifted her spear above her head and continued with the spin to attack with the blade end. The espada merely lifted two fingers and caught her spear by the staff just below the blade.

She stared into his eye angrily and he looked back with a passive look. He thrust his hand hand to the side and knocked her off balance, then he stabbed forward with his blade. Lisa twisted awkwardly to avoid the stab but the blade grazed her side and cut her. She jumped back to put distance between them.

"You're power drops drastically once the time limit of your mask ends." He said matter of factly.

She clenched her teeth and used shunpo to attack again. She attacked with ferocity and used the length of her spear to her advantage the best she could. Their fight resumed in the same fashion as before. Although Lisa could tell that he was toying with her at this point. He wasn't fighting at the same level he was before, and she knew it. She frowned as she felt his reitsu rise.

_'He's not playing anymore.'_ She thought as he disappeared in a buzz of sonido. _'Fuck!'_

He appeared above her and slashed down at her. She ducked down as low as she could but the tip of his katana opened a wound on her shoulder, close to her neck. He used sonido again, this time appearing directly in front of her. Time slowed in Lisa's mind as she looked at him, his position mirrored her own. He was crouched just as she was. She tried to jump back but he was so close that she could do anything. He grabbed the collar of her shirt and held her in place as his blade came down on her. Her zanpaktou was to long to maneuver a block and she watched as his blade came closer and closer.

_'It's over.'_ She thought.

Blood splattered everywhere as the blade cut through flesh. A streak of the red liquid painted the sky for a brief moment before gravity pulled it down to roof of Las Noches.

Lisa smirked as she spun her zanpaktou. But her smirk was unseen, covered by a clean white bone mask. Her skirt fluttered in the breeze, along with the tattered remains of her shirt. She shrugged off the torn material and let it float off in the wind. Blood streamed down her near naked torso from the various cuts on her body. Her normally white bra was stained red.

The espada stood from his previously crouched position. His movements were slow, due to the slash down his back that nearly cleaved him in half. He turned slowly and faced Lisa.

"Smart move." He said slowly. "You allowed your mask to shatter prematurely to use it later. Then you waited for me to put you in a position where my victory was guaranteed. Then you formed your mask again to take advantage of my confidence."

"Pretty much." She replied. Normally she never spoke during a battle. It was a waste of time. But she needed to waste time. She was tired and injured badly. And she meant to kill the espada with that blow.

"You even kept quite a great poker face up through that whole ordeal." He said. "But that was your mistake."

Lisa lifted her hand and removed her mask. She had to conserve as much of her power as needed for when he chose to attack.

"You keep a blank face when you fight. But your still human. There are subtle changes in your demeanor as you attack and defend. Subtle showings of emotion ranging from confidence and fear based on the situation." He said. "You kept a perfectly blank face when I attacked. That's what alerted me. There was no fear, nor confidence in your face just as I was about to kill you. If you had feigned fear, you would have killed me. But your sudden perfect emotionless facade was obvious. It was forced.

"I guess I'll have to work on that. Suggestions?" She asked snidely.

"Keep that same stone facade up at all times. That way it is impossible to be read. The small showings of emotions you displayed throughout the fight, compared to the sudden lack of emotion on your death bed is what alerted me. That attack would have cut me in half if I hadn't leaned forward."

"That's quite unfortunate." She replied.

Lisa formed her mask quickly as he attacked again. He wasn't playing around anymore. Their weapons clashed harshly. Sparks flew and blood flew from their wounds as they moved. The difference this time was that he wasn't waiting for her mask to break on it's own. The mask was breaking on his terms. Her body screamed in pain as she twisted and turned to avoid attacks to both her mask and her body. She couldn't protect both. And at the moment, her mask was more important. If it was shattered, her life would soon follow. It was a lose-lose situation. The wounds he was inflicting were building up fast. The cuts were getting deeper and closer to vital areas. She was being killed slowly. Her movements slowed drastically as her strength left her. Her zanpaktou reverted back to it's unreleased state as her reitsu plummeted. The espada grabbed her by the wrist and tossed her down to the roof of Las Noches. Her body bounced and she grunted in pain.

He landed beside her and looked down coldly as he swung his sword down to finish the job, the difference between now and last time, was the visible fear in her eyes. She had no trick up her sleeve, and he knew it.

She looked on in horror as her own blood sprayed forth, meeting his blade. For a split second she thought she was dead, but her blood sprayed forth before his blade hit her. She got her mind back in gear and analyzed what was happening. In front of her was a thin red, triangular barrier. A barrier that had blocked the espada's strike. She smirked as she recognized the ability. The espada jumped out of the way as Urahara slashed at him.

The espada sprang forth to attack but Urahara brought the shield to his side to block the strike, he slashed forward and cut the espada's arm. The espada attacked again but was blocked again by the shield. Urahara countered once more and opened another wound. Lisa watched on as Urahara manipulated the position of the shield to block all of the espada's attacks while simultaneously attacking with Benihime. The espada was able to catch on to the pace of the battle and was blocking Urahara's attacks easily enough, now neither were hitting each other.

Lisa watched on in confusion as a second Urahara appeared behind the espada and cut him horizontally across his lower back. The first Urahara flopped to the ground limply.

_'A gigai?'_ She thought. _'How did he make the gigai and shunpo away so quickly?' _Lisa smiled as she thought the battle was over, but the image of the espada disappeared.

Urahara slashed to his side and a crimson streak of energy met the blade of the espada.

"Fast, you left an afterimage behind." Urahara said in a sing song voice. "I thought I had you for a second."

"To think I would fall for such a trick is demeaning." The espada responded.

"I have a lot of tricks. I'm sure if we had the time, I could make you fall for one of them." Urahara said. He shunpo'd to Lisa and helped her to her feet.

"But we have to go."

As he finished his sentence, Hachi appeared, supporting a very bloody Rose. Hachi gently laid Rose down as the espada attacked. Urahara formed another shield between them and lashed out with a crimson streak. Once Hachi's hands were freed he formed his hollow mask and trapped the espada in a binding spell.

Urahara resealed Benihime and moved his cane-zanpaktou through the air. A garganta opened and they all stepped in.

* * *

Jernej appeared beside his espada companion just as the garganta closed. He charged a cero and blasted the barrier that was binding his fellow espada. At the same time, he blasted the barrier from the inside. The binding spell shattered and he was free.

"Are we following them?" Jernej asked.

"No. Attacking them now doesn't fit Aizen's plan." He replied.

Jernej nodded, he brought his hand up and brushed his hair away from his eyes. "The fat one caught me in one of those binding spells to. Real bitch to get out by yourself." Jernej sheathed his zanpaktou before he continued. "Aizen is going to be pissed we let them get away."

"If it weren't for the interference of the one with the hat, the woman would be dead." He responded. "I'm confused as to how you failed to kill your opponents."

"The long haired one, Rose was his name. Has extremely versatile abilities. It was difficult to kill him."

"I'm not buying it."

Jernej laughed. "Those with versatile abilities are fun to fight. I didn't want to end it too quickly. It might have been a while before I got a fight like that."

He looked his companion up and down a little. "You got fucked up a little there." He said. "What's the deal Ulqiorra?"

"I have a certain lack of motivation." Ulqiorra responded.

Jernej laughed in response. The tercera and quinto espada began walking back into Las Noches.

* * *

Ukitake inhaled the fresh night air before taking a sip of his tea. The night was peaceful, tranquil. It was in stark contrast to the events earlier today. He leaned to his side and wrapped his arm around Unohana. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. He could hear her calm breaths, her quiet sips of her tea. The light sounds she made comforted him further, made him feel at ease. He sipped his tea again and made sure to soak in the gentle atmosphere. He had a feeling that these moments would become scarce with the arrival of these new captains.

"How's the tea?" Retsu asked.

"Very nice, as always." Ukitake replied.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Ukitake said. He sipped his tea once more before continuing. "The night is beautiful isn't it.?"

"It is."

"Just like you." Ukitake said. He turned his head to face her, she looked up at him and smiled. Ukitake leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Retsu pulled back and smiled at him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to flatter me. What are your intentions?"

Ukitake gave a mock expression of shock. "No intentions. I can't comment on your beauty without being accused of having intentions?"

"I know you Juushiro. You have intentions." She said as she took another sip of her tea.

"For arguments sake, lets say I do have intentions."

Retsu nodded with an amused look.

"Would you be so opposed to those intentions?"

"I don't know. I can't say I was thrilled with your behavior at the meeting today."

_'Damn.'_ Ukitake thought. He knew that would come back and bite him in the ass.

"Well it was an emotional situation. And I got caught up in the anger."

Retsu just looked at him with the same amused expression as before.

"And Shunsui suggest that we leave, and I just sort of followed along."

"You just followed along?"

"Well it's not like I can't make decisions for myself."

She just kept the same amused expression.

"Like I said I was angry and I spoke without thinking.

...

"It was just that everything was so..."

His blabbering was cut off as Retsu leaned forward and kissed him.

"Oh shut up. You and I both know you're getting laid tonight." She said with a smile.

"So how about we go back inside?" Ukitake asked.

"Yea, once we finish our tea."

Ukitake looked at her then at his tea. He lifted it to his lips and drank the rest of his cup in one gulp. He coughed slightly as the hot tea burnt his throat.

"Argh. Ok I'm finished. What about you?" He asked in a harsh voice. He coughed once more.

Retsu giggled and took a larger sip of her tea before she stood up. She placed the mostly finished cup on the window ledge and grabbed Ukitake by the hand to lead him inside her house.

**Lemon Warning: Skip past if you don't like smut.**

Ukitake followed Retsu into the bedroom with a wide grin. He closed the door behind him and she lightly pushed him down onto the bed. He smiled as she crawled on top of him and kissed him passionately. She broke the kiss for a moment as she adjusted herself to straddle him. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back down to kiss her again. After a few moments, he darted out his tongue to lick her lips. She responded by parting them and met his tongue with her own. They swirled and pushed against one another for a while until Ukitake's tongue began to retreat back into his mouth slowly. Unohana followed him and once her tongue was sticking out enough, he wrapped his lips around it and began to suck lightly.

She moaned slightly as he sucked on her tongue. He continued and she began to lightly grind her hips into his.

_'Works every time.'_ He thought triumphantly.

His hands grabbed her hips and squeezed. His left hand moved to her ass while his right went up her side to her breast. He could feel her hands working to undo his shirt. Once she finished undoing it, her rolled her so that he was between her legs. He sat up straight and pulled his shirt off. Ukitake then reached forward and grabbed a hold of her braid. He liked the way she styled her hair, but hated how much effort it took to get it out of the way. He removed the tie and began to un-weave the braid. He made sure to run his fingers through it to prevent it from knotting. After a minute or so, her braid was undone and her hair was fanned out beside her. He reached down and began to undo her shirt and then removed it as quickly as possible.

Unohana reached up and grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him down for another kiss. As they kissed, Ukitake unclasped her bra and removed the lacy material. His hands found her breasts once again, but this time it was skin on skin. He broke their kiss and went to her neck. Kissing and sucking as he kissed down her neck to her collarbone. He trailed down and kissed her breasts lightly. He reached her areola and ran his tongue around the dark skin. He spiraled around the areola and made his way to the centre. By the time he reached the tip of her nipple, the bud had hardened to his liking. He wrapped his lips around her nipple and sucked gently, he rolled the bud with his tongue and nipped lightly.

He could hear the labored breathing of Unohana as he worked his magic. He removed his mouth and blew onto her hardened wet nipple. She responded with a sharp breath. He turned and did the same with her other breast. Once both nipples were hard and properly taken care of, he kissed down to her stomach. He made sure to suck and lick all the way down to her waste line. He wiggled his fingers under her waste line and grabbed hold of everything. In one tug, he removed her pants and underwear. He threw the rest of her clothes onto the floor and lifted her left leg up. She giggled in response as he bit her inner thigh. He stuck his tongue out and ran it down her thigh until he reached her vagina. Once there he stuck his tongue out and ran it up her slit. He stopped at the top and tongued her clit enthusiastically. He heard her cry in delight and felt her hands grab his hair. He went back down to the bottom of her vagina and repeated his previous action.

Licking up her slit, tonguing her clit roughly then repeat. Her moans grew louder and her breathing became more erratic. He gripped his hair and pulled his head up overtime he licked up her slit. Then pushed his head down when he finished at the top. It became of rhythm of his tongue and her guiding his head. He brought his hand up and inserted his index finger into her vagina. He pushed it in and out a few times before he curled his finger upward. She let out a long loud moan in response. He attacked her clit with his tongue one last time before sitting back up.

He grabbed her hips and lifted quickly. Once her ass was off the bed he twisted her so that she was on her stomach. He got to his feet and removed his pants quickly before dropping back to his knees. He then pulled her ass back as he rubbed his penis on her vagina.

"Mhmm." Retsu moaned. "You're not even...going to let me...return...the favor?" Her speech was labored as she tried to catch her breath.

"I can't wait." He said back.

He rubbed his dick up and down her slit once more before entering her from behind. At first he just put the tip in, once it was in he began to pump in slowly, just using the tip. Each time he pushed in he went a little bit deeper while maintaining a slow pace. After a minute or so he was fully inside her, and she was already moaning and crying his name.

"Looks like your all wet and ready?" He said in a husky voice.

"Fuck me now!" She screamed.

Ukitake laughed, he did this to her every time. He took her advice and pulled out almost completely, and slammed back into her with as much force as he could. He pulled back out and slammed back in again. His pace quickened as he pounded into her. Her screams of ecstasy only made him more confident and he continued to. The sweat on both of them made his hands slippery and he lost his grip on her hips. He regained his grip on her hips and continued his job. When he pulled out he gripped her hips again and pulled her ass into him as he thrust forward.

"Ohhh!" Unohana screamed. "Juushiro!!"

The sound of his hips slapping against her ass was in time with her loud moans.

"Ugh." He grunted.

"FUCK!" She screamed. "JUUSHIRO!!!!" She yelled loudly and buried her face into her pillow and screamed loudly as she came.

He continued to fuck her as hard as he could to stretch her orgasm as long as possible. Her muffled screams rang in his ears. After a few moments she lifted her head from the pillow and reached up to grab the headboard. She gripped the wood so hard that it splintered under her grip. He pounded into her until his energy left him and he slowed down. Her moans continued for a few more moments as her orgasm finally ended. He pulled out and she rolled onto her back panting.

"Did...you...finish?" She asked raggedly.

"Not yet." He breathed back.

Unohana leaned forward and grabbed onto his penis. Before he could do anything she wrapped her lips around him and began to bob up and down. He moaned and intertwined his fingers into her hair. She licked and sucked all the way up his length as she firmly squeezed the base of his penis. He brushed her hair our of her face and watched as her cheeks pucker inward.

"Oh." Ukitake moaned as he reached his peak. "Retsu. I'm coming!"

She gave one final suck before removing her mouth from his dick. He unloaded onto her chest as she finished him off with her hand.

He panted and looked at her lovingly as she did the same.

"My god Juushiro. I think you kept me riding that orgasm for two minutes straight." She panted. "My legs are weak, can you do me a favor and get me a towel."

"Sure." He replied as he got up and grabbed her a towel. She cleaned off her chest and the two of them slipped under the covers to cuddle.

**End of lemon.**

They huddled together naked under the covers silently as they caught their breath. They lied there for several minutes before either spoke.

"What do you think of these new captains? Where do you think they came from?" Ukitake asked.

"I don't know. The real question is, how strong are they? For four random shinigami to appear out of no where, all apparently captain level is weird." Unohana replied.

"Yea. Perhaps they were all once rejected by the Gotei 13? Not every shinigami from the academy gets accepted to the Gotei 13."

"No. Those who don't get accepted into the Gotei 13 are those who show next to no potential. I highly doubt that those who were once deemed talentless managed to achieve Bankai." Unohana said.

"Maybe they don't all have Bankai. Three of them are the children of Okahito. They may have just gotten in on favoritism alone."

"Maybe." She said.

"I'll do some investigating tomorrow with Shunsui. We'll gauge these new captains powers and try and find their origins."

"Sounds like a plan." She replied.

Ukitake hugged Unohana tightly. Her breasts pressed against his chest. Feeling devious he leaned back to look at her.

"So." He said with a smirk. "You up for round two?"

Unohana giggled. "For someone who has such bad stamina. You have crazy stamina."

"Sex and battle are completely different." he said. As he climbed on top of her.

* * *

**Well there it is. Here's how you pronounce the name of the new espada.**

**Jernej Hrovat: Yer-ney Row-vat**


End file.
